Basketball veteran Svetislav Pesic at the age of 74 is reaching for the medals at the World Cup again.
The coach and his Serbs clearly won the first World Cup quarter-finals in Manila with 87:68 (49:38) against co-favorite Lithuania.
“It’s a great and important win for my team. The game went great for us, especially against opponents like Lithuania,” said Pesic at the following press conference.
In absence from NBA-Star Nikola Jokic, who is currently considered the best player in the world, the Serbs benefited from an outstanding team performance and Bogdan Bogdanovic (21 points) in a good mood. The Serbs meet on Friday in the semifinals in the Mall of Asia Arena on the winner of the match between Canada and Slovenia.
Lithuania eliminated after USA coup
The Serbs are reaching for their first major event medal since silver at the EM 2017. For Pesic, who had already said goodbye as a coach, is after the World Cup title with Yugoslavia in 2002 and the EM trophies in 1993 (with Germany) and 2001 (with Yugoslavia) even another big title in old age.
For Lithuania, the setback comes unexpectedly and at the wrong time two days after the famous 110:104 win over Olympic champions USA. The direct Olympic qualification for Paris 2024 is denied to the team around Jonas Valanciunas. After Lithuania also lost a game, Germany is the last of the 32 World Cup participants without a defeat at this tournament. The German team around captain Dennis Schröder meets outsiders Latvia on Wednesday (10.45 a.m.).