Nikola Jokić leads Serbia to Olympic bronze over Germany in males’s basketball
PARIS — A lot for the notion of Serbia’s males’s basketball crew having a Staff USA hangover.
Simply two days after their crushing loss to the Individuals in an Olympic semifinal for the ages, once they misplaced regardless of enjoying so effectively that American coach Steve Kerr deemed their efficiency the “excellent” recreation, three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and his countrymen cruised to a 93-83 win over Germany within the bronze-medal recreation on Saturday.
Jokić was dominant but once more, because the Denver Nuggets star completed with a triple-double (19 factors, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists). Bogdan Bogdanović, the Serbian crew captain and this system’s all-time main scorer who additionally performs for the Atlanta Hawks, had 16 factors. Serbian guard Vasilije Micić additionally had 19 factors. And but once more, as was the case towards Staff USA, the Serbians confirmed the basketball world that they’ve probably the greatest applications on the planet.
The bronze marks Serbia’s first Olympic medal since its silver gained on the Rio Olympics in 2016. Nonetheless, with Serbia having led the Individuals by 17 within the first half and 10 coming into the fourth quarter, the ache will certainly stay after they let the gold get away.
“It was troublesome to sleep (after the Staff USA loss),” Bogdanović stated. “We didn’t sleep that day, that evening in any respect. It was a late recreation, however the subsequent day, all of us get up and (Serbian coach Svetislav Pešić) was prepared with the (crew) assembly. He was prepared with the identical assembly that he did the entire yr — a little bit bit longer, in fact. However that was his manner. We believed. We didn’t complain. We weren’t late. Yeah, we play collectively. We win collectively. We lose collectively. We’re collectively. We rejoice collectively.”
As Serbian huge man Filip Petrušev stated afterward, there was immense pleasure on this end. The Serbians may have let the loss to America be their undoing, however they discovered a solution to reply amid all that heartache.
“We weren’t going house and not using a medal, particularly after what occurred two days in the past,” stated Petrušev, who had 11 factors. “We owed it to ourselves. We owed it to the nation, to the folks that supported us. Two days in the past, the entire nation was so happy with us, so we needed to deliver one thing house. That was the mentality.
“You all noticed it two days in the past towards one of the best crew ever (in Staff USA), perhaps, that wanted every kind of assist, and perhaps luck a little bit bit (to win). … However I simply hope this isn’t our final time altogether. I feel this crew can … sooner or later, be even higher. This could be probably the greatest groups Serbia ever had.”
Serbian guard Aleksa Avramović, who had 13 factors, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, was equally as proud.
“This was an incredible recreation,” he stated. “I imply, 40 hours after that class recreation towards the USA, (with) what we did, how we symbolize our nation, how the individuals from Serbia look on the earth, and the way we performed. Significantly, for our nation, for one another, and the way we battle (it was large).
“We have been on the sting to win towards one of the best crew within the historical past of basketball. That was perhaps one of the best recreation within the historical past of basketball, as a result of within the final 15 years, you had so many (NBA) MVPs on the courtroom (5 in all with LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Jokić).”
“We weren’t going house and not using a medal, particularly after what occurred two days in the past,” stated Serbia’s Filip Petrušev. (Garrett W. Ellwood / NBAE by way of Getty Pictures)
For the Germans, who spent the early portion of the match wanting like a reputable gold-medal contender, the match got here to a bitter finish. One yr faraway from a FIBA World Cup title that was the primary in this system’s historical past, they seemed certain — at a minimal — to win the nation’s first Olympic medal in males’s basketball.
However they fell to France within the semifinal (73-69), breaking what was a 12-game profitable streak in worldwide tournaments. Then got here Serbia, and the recent begin that had them enjoying catch-up all through.
The Serbians have been sharp early, as they led 30-21 after the primary quarter and have been almost as “excellent” as they’d been towards the Individuals. They hit 12 of their first 17 photographs (70.5 %), with Bogdanović burying a 3 to spark the scoring. Jokić performed bully-ball from there, plowing by means of German huge man Daniel Theis (of the New Orleans Pelicans) twice for buckets from there and scoring on one other possession the place he labored his manner by means of three defenders. Level guard Dennis Schröder, who had 8 first-quarter factors, helped maintain the Germans considerably shut.
The 2 groups have been just about even within the second quarter, with Serbia main 46-38 at halftime after they lastly cooled off from the sector (lacking 10 of 14 photographs within the second). However Germany’s three most distinguished NBA gamers had been far worse, with Schröder (Brooklyn Nets), Mo Wagner and Franz Wagner (of the Orlando Magic) capturing a mixed 4 of 20 from the sector on the break.
Serbia blew the sport open within the third quarter, happening an 18-7 run during which 3s from Avramović and Ognjen Dobrić capped the run and put Germany in a 64-45 gap that might show too deep.
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(High photograph of Nikola Jokić celebrating throughout Saturday’s bronze-medal recreation: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE by way of Getty Pictures)
