Svetislav Pesic gets another chance to crown himself 21 years after his first World Cup title. He will have to do without the best basketball player in the world in Serbia this summer.
Svetislav Pesic can become world champion again at the age of 74. The experienced coach led his Serbs in Manila with a 95:86 (52:39) over favorite Canada into the final of the Basketball World Cup and is only one win away from another coronation after 2002.
Serbia will play this summer without NBA champion Nikola Jokic, who is currently considered the best player in the world. Three-point specialist Bogdan Bogdanovic (23 points) was the best thrower for the Serbs, who will win a medal at a major event for the first time since 2017. On Sunday (2:40 p.m.) the final will be against the winner of the USA versus Germany game.
Pesic became world champion with Yugoslavia in 2002, as well as European champions with Germany in 1993 and Yugoslavia in 2001. His team, which functions as a collective, held up surprisingly well against the Canadians’ NBA star ensemble led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander, the tournament’s best player to date, had 15 points and ten assists in front of 8,630 spectators at the Mall of Asia Arena. Teammate RJ Barrett (23 points) started too late.
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World Cup final at 74: Pesic and Serbia defeat Canada
The Canadians had previously defeated the European favorites France, Spain and Slovenia around star player Luka Doncic in the tournament and were considered the toughest opponents of the top favorite USA. Now it’s all about bronze on Sunday (10.30 a.m.). It would be Canada’s first medal at a World Championships.