SERBIA’S WC SCHEDULE A total of 92 matches will be played during the planet’s biggest basketball competition, and our national team will have the honour of opening the FIBA World Cup with a match against Angola on 31 st August, from 9.30am Serbian time. The second match of coach Aleksandar Đorđević’s selected squad will be played on 2nd Septem- ber at 1.30pm, against the Philippines, while the third match of Serbia’s Eagles will be played on 4th September, also at 1.30pm Serbian time, when they take on Italy. The Serbia national team will play its Group D matches in the city of Foshan. A place in the second round of the compe- tition - to be played from 6 th to 9 th September - will be se- cured by the top two teams in each of the eight groups, with Serbia’s group paired against Group C, which in- cludes Spain, Puerto Rico, Iran and Tunisia. RASPORED SRBIJE NA SP Na najvećem planetarnom takmičenju biće odigrano ukupno 92 meča, a naša reprezentacija imaće čast da otvori Mundobasket utakmicom sa Angolom 31. avgu- sta u 9.30 h po srpskom vremenu. Drugi meč izabra- nici selektora Aleksandra Đorđevića igraju 2. septem- bra od 13.30 h protiv Filipina, dok će treći meč u grupi imati 4. septembra, takođe od 13.30 h, a rival će im biti Italija. Reprezentacija Srbije će utakmice Svetskog prvenstva u okviru grupe D igrati u Fošanu. Plasman u drugu rundu takmičenja, koja će se igrati od 6. do 9. septembra, izboriće po dve najbolje selekcije iz svake od osam grupa, a Srbija će se ukrstiti sa grupom C, u kojoj su Španija, Portoriko, Iran i Tunis.
dream of hearing – Serbia is the champion of the world, echoing to the sounds of the national anthem, God of Justice. And every- one hopes that this dream will be realised this 15 th September. But selector and head coach Aleksandar Đorđević doesn’t permit such prophetic dreams; he knows that fan- tasising doesn’t win trophies. “From the players I seek work, order and discipline. They mustn’t take ight, mustn’t relax. I’m seeking for them to be mo- tivated at every moment and to be focused on the court,”says head coach Đorđević. And if they relax? “One badly played game will bring them back down to earth. Talking about Americansisbanned.You[themedia]keep asking about that, but... We’re not think- ing about them. We’re considering every- one but the Americans. I’m thinking, for instance, about the Germans who beat us twice in qualifying, and about Greece, Rus- sia... And I won’t even mention the kind of quality of the squads coming from France, Argentina, Brazil, Spain etc.” And then a point followed, because Đorđević always scores points at the last second. “We’ll leave the Americans to play their own basketball, and we’ll play ours. So if we meet, may God help them.” Nemanja Bjelica is also
With three silvers won at the last European and World championships, as well as the Olympic Games, our basketball players have restored our faith that we belong on the world throne. And while the nation lets its imagination run wild, Aleksandar ‘Sale’ Đorđević’s select few don’t want to promise too much. They are ready, but there is no euphoria. ‘Sale Nacionale’ is showing them how to become a champion... P ublic transport. Two guys aged around 25. -“I can’t wait for theWorld Cup to begin,”says one. – “Ooh, me too! Only for us to beat the Americans. With Jokić we can certainly do that.” Kalemegdan Fortress, one of many benches.Twoelderlygentlemenarechatting. - “I think this year we have the best chance of winning gold. Do you remember Indianapolis in 2002? Then we managed to beat the dream-team in the middle of Amer-
aware that the team must be realistic in its expectations and mustn’t ‘waver’ too much. He is the maestro of the Serbian team, in the way Dejan Bodi- roga used to be. He’s denitely Sale’s man for special missions. “We shouldn’t back away
from the fact that we’re among the favourites, but we must be realistic. There was euphoria over the withdrawal of Ameri- cans, but they’re strong regard- less of the squad they come with. However, no one can take away from us that thing of ours that we have.” In response to the follow-up question of what that thing of ours is, Bjelica smiles. “A wonderful atmosphere and team spirit. I am glad that this positive atmos- phere has been created, and we must on- ly think about ourselves and how to be as good as possible.” If Bjelica is Sale’s man for special mis- sions, then Miloš Teodosić is the team’s greatest creative asset. He’s a man who’s able to “invent” an assistance or a score.
ica,”says one gent.
Cela nacija reprezentacija
His friend responds: “I’ve seen that most of the Americans have withdrawn. But they’ll never have what we have – spite, heart, and Sale Đorđević. He knows how to beatthebest.Theydon’tgetkilledbyAmer- icans with three-pointers in the last second.” Wherever you turn during this long, hot summer, people are talking about the FIBAWorldCup.Children,men,women,old, young, those who follow sports and those who often don’t, they all have only one pic- ture in their heads and one sentence they
The whole nation behind the national team
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