They had something to celebrate

Steph Curry's burst of threes at the end of the final game, followed by the unforgettable awarding of medals, brought down the curtain on the basketball tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris. In the game for bronze, against the current world champion Germany, the Serbian team crowned a fantastic performance in the competition with a sure game and a convincing victory (93:83), which justified the epithet of the strongest in the history of national basketball.

The packed stands at the football stadium in Lille, and later in the legendary Bercy hall in Paris, witnessed the masterful games of the best players that today's basketball can offer. Winning a medal in such a competition is a great success, and with the third place, the Serbian national team continued the continuity of good results started at the World Championship in Manila, but also raised the elan of the nation at the finish of the biggest sports show.

Of the national teams that were on the podium - America's gold, France's silver, and Serbia's bronze - the guys with our national emblem seemed the most cheerful and relaxed, maybe because of the day-long celebration that we had the opportunity to see through videos on social networks, and maybe because of the feeling fulfillment and satisfaction, the realization that they gave everything they had and that they did their job in the absolute best way.

ROAD TO THE SEMI-FINALS

After a lackluster performance in the premier duel against the USA (84:110), and then routine victories over Puerto Rico (107:66) and South Sudan (96:85), Svetislav Pešić's chosen team faced a tricky Australia in the quarterfinals, while the draw decided the winner of that duel will go to the better of the USA-Brazil duel. Australia opened the tournament with a clear victory against Spain, and after two successive defeats, they sneaked into the quarter-finals only thanks to Canada's victory over Spain, which sent the current European champions home, and the Kangaroos to a duel with our national team.

The opening of the quarter-final duel looked like horror movies to Serbian fans. Serbia seemed nervous and clumsy because of the referee's failure, the attacks mostly ended with lost balls or misses, while on the other side, Patty Mills and Josh Giddy played with the defense of our national team. After Australia's basketball lesson and their 44:20 lead, it was time for coach Pešić to hold a motivational lesson at the now legendary timeout. Serbia then played more aggressively and patiently, slowly melting away the advantage of the opponent and already in the middle of the third quarter completely returned to the game. What followed was a score seesaw and one of the most uncertain endings this sport can remember. The unstoppable veteran Mills brought his team overtime with a precise shot from half distance, and there was only one national team in it. Or, to be realistic, just one man.

The last two minutes of extra time showed how important Nikola Jokić is for every team he plays for, and therefore for the national team of our country. A block and a stolen ball on one side, i.e. several tied goals on the other side, of which the famous one was particularly painful for the opponent Sombor Shuffle, a shot that simply cannot be defended, sent us to the semi-finals, at the feet of the strongest national team in the world.

photo: ap

A STEP TO THE DREAM

The Serbian national team went to the OI with the best basketball player in the world and the halo of the world vice-champion, so with great ambitions. However, the first four games of the tournament did not inspire much hope that our team has a chance to do the impossible and beat America.

The previous two duels against the USA were easily and convincingly solved by the opponents, with a difference of 26 points each, and a special reason for concern was the impression that the Serbian team did not have enough players playing at a satisfactory level of form. Apart from the reliable Dobrić and the fanatically fighting Avramović, it seemed that Jokić and Bogdanović did not receive adequate help from the other teammates. Many also believed that for greater resistance to the Americans, it is necessary to have a larger number of players with experience playing in the NBA league than Serbia has. However, as is often the case in basketball, a potential advantage can be seen in an obvious disadvantage by changing the perspective - if the Serbian national team already has a lot of players who do not play in the NBA, it only means that the biggest NBA stars do not know them well enough.

The experienced Curry tried to relax his players and put the pressure on the opposing side, saying that this USA team is stronger than the famous Dream Team from 1992. The American team made it to the semi-finals with a convincing victory against Brazil. The dominant impression was that Serbia really has nothing to lose, and that's exactly how the game of our basketball players seemed at the beginning - brave and fearless, as if there was no tomorrow.

Concentration and aggressiveness were at the highest possible level, there was no fear of a big rival, and Pešić's players performed purely basketball tasks without error. Accurate in three-point shooting, smart and patient in making decisions and careful with the ball in their hands, they raised their shooting percentages (38.5 percent for three points, 56.3 percent for two) and the number of assists (22), and reduced the number of turnovers (7 ) compared to the previous two duels with the Americans. In defense, principles were agreed upon and executed without question - it was known whose puck was being defended "under the block", who was allowed to shoot from half-distance, and whose play in transition was interrupted by a tactical foul. Serbia was also dominant in rebounding, and the only deviation from the game plan was caused by the incredible night of the best shooter in the history of basketball, Steph Curry.

photo: ap photo

For a quality opposition to the Americans, the contribution of the entire team is necessary, which was the case that evening in Paris Bercy. The standard genius Jokić and brave Bogdanović were joined by Avramović, Dobrić, Petrushev, Gudurić and Milutinov, who played the best games in the tournament.

"If you always make logical decisions, then you can only expect logical results", Kari Pešić once wrote in his autobiography. Certain coaching decisions in this game, such as a combined zone defense against a team that is extremely shooting-minded, or placing Milutinov in certain periods of the game to guard LeBron James, represented conscious risks that the trophy coach took upon himself. Match-up the zone completely threw the attack of the American national team out of rhythm, which more often ended with lost balls, while Lebron struggled with the height and length of Milutinov's arms. Serbia was bursting with self-confidence and finished the first three quarters in their favor, which gave them a 13-point lead entering the final quarter.

Details from the last quarter will be remembered for a long time and will come to dreams. Jokić's fourth foul, Bogdanović's three-pointer that "leaks" from the hoop, Micić's hasty shot, Dobrić's open three-pointer... Serbia was so close to a miracle, the impression is that everything would have been different if only some of the above had ended with a different outcome. Led by three players who marked basketball in the 21st century - Curry, LeBron and Durant - America smelled blood and somehow channeled the great nervousness that its players had shown until then.

Unfortunately, they received a lot of help in the critical moments of the game from the three referees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Panama and Latvia, who were not up to this kind of competition and actors. As usual, officiating was the weakest aspect of the FIBA-organized tournament, and numerous mistakes were publicly acknowledged by their officiating experts after the games. The coaches of Greece, Australia and South Sudan also had complaints, but what we saw in the semi-finals will still hurt us a little more - from Durant's stepping on the outside line, changing the criteria when it comes to contact play, to the suspiciously awarded "over half" to Bogdanović .

Like all great teams, Serbia played its best game at the right time. It wasn't enough for the victory (91:95), but it was for almost 37 minutes of leadership against one of the strongest teams in the history of basketball, in one of the best games in the history of basketball. "I am honored to have been a part of this game. This was one of the best games of my life." If Steve Kerr, the head coach of the American national team, says something like that, we have no choice but to agree with the man who won five NBA titles as a player and four as a coach.

THE BEST WHEN IT'S HARDEST

Basketball fans in Serbia saw the reason for concern before the game for the third place in the timing of the game: Saturday, 11 am, just 36 hours after the exhausting and heartbreaking defeat by the number one favorite. On the opposite side was Germany, the current world champion and a big debtor from the championship in Manila. Twelve months ago, these two teams were deciding who would be the world champion, and now who would return home with a medal.

Every duel with the Germans is of great emotional importance for Svetislav Pešić, bearing in mind what he achieved with their national team in the early nineties, and later in club basketball with Alba Berlin and Bayern Munich. His chosen ones found the strength and concentration to play a new fantastic game, the result and flow of which they controlled for the entire 40 minutes. The routine and stability demonstrated by the Serbian national team against a team that had only had one bad day until then, in the semi-final against the host France, is astonishing.

Vasa Micić played perhaps the best game in the national team jersey, and Vanja Marinković in the tournament, which was more than enough for a sure victory (93:83) and a great celebration of our players and fans. After the match, German coach Gordon Herbert congratulated the Serbian national team on their victory and stated that they were the best team they faced in the tournament.

INDIVIDUAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CONFIRMATIONS

Aleksa Avramović was declared the best defender, while Nikola Jokić and Bogdan Bogdanović were in the first and second best five of the tournament. LeBron James was declared the best player of the Olympic Games, although there are numerous arguments on Nikola Jokić's side, such as statistics or sound logic that says that it is a greater success to win bronze with Serbia than gold with like this America. Even if the unwritten rules, according to which the MVP award goes to the player from the winning team, would force us to choose the most useful player among the Americans, the impression is that it would be Steph Curry. In the only real tests for his national team - the semi-final against Serbia (93:83) and the final against France (98:87) - he recorded 36 and 24 points, along with an incredible 17 three-pointers.

However, numerous foreign media claim that the award should have gone to Nikola Jokić. In the games in France, he cemented his status as the best player in the world, and in two duels with the strongest national team, he proved that the three MVP awards of the NBA League are no coincidence. Nikola finished the tournament as the leader in points, rebounds, assists and steals, becoming the first basketball player in the history of the Olympic Games to do so. He finished the match for third place with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, achieving only the fifth triple-double in the history of the Olympic competition. He was assisted by that in the duel with Puerto Rico, in which he had his "lowest" scoring performance with 14 points.

He showed the consistency that characterizes the greatest players, so he finished the tournament without a single bad or average game, scoring 20, 14, 22, 21, 17 and 19 points respectively. The number of minutes he played in the three games of the elimination phase - 39, 38 and 38 - further speaks of the heroism he showed on the floor, and basketball connoisseurs are also fascinated by the fact that in the last two games he lost only two balls, recording as many as 22 assists at the same time. Apart from dry statistics and performance on the floor, the emotional reactions he showed in the rare moments when he was on the bench, and his teammates made good moves on the field, are also pleasing.

If Jokić further strengthened the epithet of the best basketball player on the planet with this tournament, then Bogdan Bogdanović did the same when it comes to his status and importance for the Serbian national team. An indispensable participant, and often the leader of all the great results of the national team in the previous ten years, he once again showed his playing, leadership and captain skills. They will also remember the so-called trash talk with LeBron, which further encouraged his teammates and showed that they have nothing to fear from the Americans.

During this championship, Bogdan became the best scorer in the history of the Serbian national team, which is a great feat in a country that produced so many basketball aces. And it is a special feat to do something like that nowadays, when players more often than before choose to skip representative duties and allow themselves and their bodies a little break. Bogdanović earned his captain's armband by constantly responding to the selectors, from Duda Ivković to Salet Đorđević to Kari Pešić. And if we talk about Nikola Jokić's consistency in this year's tournament, what can we say about Bogdan Bogdanović's performance in the last five major competitions in the national team jersey: 12,3 points on average at OI 2016, 20,4 at EP 2017, 22,9 at WC 2019, 19,1 at WC 2023 and 18.3 at OI 2024?!

LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE

The Americans return home with gold, the fifth in a row and the seventeenth in history, but also with worries about the future. What has been clear for a long time has just received new confirmation - the world is getting dangerously close to them. They sent literally all the best they had to these OI, and the question is whether they would have returned from them triumphant if it had not been for the performance of the naturalized Cameroonian Embido in the key moments of the duel with Serbia.

The Americans were on the ropes, and their haughty behavior on the field and subsequent quarrel with unknown accounts on social networks only reinforces the impression of a nervous and insecure team. The impression is that the rest of the basketball world no longer admires or fears them, which was seen through the dunk of Jabuzele through James or the edition provided against them by the South Sudan national team, which currently does not have a single player with an NBA contract.

However, one should not be fooled by the potential crises in American basketball, but see this only as an incentive for progress. We were very, very close to a huge miracle, but we have no guarantee that it will be the same next time. We ourselves were "on the edge of the precipice" against Australia, and the problems in domestic club basketball are numerous and chronic. It is necessary to convince Svetislav Pešić that he has not finished his work and that he is needed for new successes. In addition, one should pay attention to the very certain rise of other national teams, primarily Canada, France and Germany. The rest of the world is approaching America without hesitation, but the rest of the world is not just us.

Serbia has a fantastic base - the best player in the world, a captain who is always at her disposal, a rich base of useful team players, a talented U18 generation, a rich tradition, quality coaches and an incredible love for basketball. He seems to be reawakened and famous cult of representation, and it is up to the association, players and fans to nurture and preserve it.