The Serbian National Basketball team – a Way-back Machine part 3
Hello again, fellow sports fans! This week, just like last week, we are taking you on an interesting journey through time, where we will hang out with the aces of Serbian and Yugoslav basketball. The continuation of this interesting journey through time brings us the story of the ups and downs that the Serbian national basketball team went through in the 2000s.
The Serbian national basketball team - withdrawal of experienced players, rejuvenation of the team
Previous successes, and especially the recent winning of the World Cup in Indianapolis in 2002, raised the bar of expectations to the highest level. It was the turn for the European Championship in Sweden. However, the situation in the national team was far from great, and the high set goals will turn out to be way too ambitious. Namely, Svetislav Pešić leaves the helm of the national team, and his role is taken over by Mr. Duško Vujošević. Vlade Divac previously said goodbye to the national team, and Dejan Bodiroga, due to the accumulated fatigue, asked for a year of exemption from national team obligations. Numerous dismissals that followed led to the trophy expert (then the coach of the most successful Serbian basketball club, KK Partizan) Dule Vujosevic being forced to rely on "domestic forces" in his quest for medals. The national team includes players from the domestic league, such as the young Kosta Perović, Ognjen Aškrabić and the then anonymous Montepaschi Siena basketball player Dušan Vukćević. The national team was led for the first time under the new name of Serbia and Montenegro, by the best player of the national team, Pedja Stojakovic. Serbia and Montenegro finished the group competition in third place with defeats from Russia and Spain, and a victory against Sweden. In the eighth finals, a serious opponent, the Turkish national team, was waiting. In the thriller finale, Serbia wins primarily thanks to the excellent Pedja Drobnjak. Already in the quarterfinals, the old finder, the national team of Lithuania, was waiting. Led by the cheerful Šiškauskas and Šarunas Jasikevičius, Lithuania inflicted a heavy defeat on the national team of Serbia and Montenegro (98-82). In the playoffs from the 5th to the 8th place, the national team won the disappointing 6th place, and serious twitches appeared on the players' selector route.
The Serbian national basketball team - 2004 Olympic Games in Athens
After the European Championship in Sweden, it became clear that Mr. Dusko Vujosevic will not remain in the position of a head-coach. He was replaced by the most trophy-winning European coach and former coach of Yugoslavia, Mr. Zelimir Obradovic. The team that gathered Obradović was a unique mix of experience and young, talented players whose time is yet to come. Dejan Bodiroga and Dejan Tomašević returned to the national team. NBA players Vladimir Radmanović and Pedja Drobnjak were also on the list, and new young NBA players Nenad Krstić and Sasa Pavlović were as well joining the national team. The roster was completed with proven players from the domestic league, such as Đuro Ostojić, Igor Rakočević and Vule Avdalović. However, a big handicap for the national team was the fact that LA Clippers basketball player Marko Jarić, as well as the second playmaker of the national team Miloš Vujanić, will not be with the team at the Olympics. Also, there are new setbacks in the relationship between the players and the national team, and the best player of the national team, Pedja Stojakovic, is absent from the list.
The “Blues” started the Olympic tournament with a last-second defeat by Argentina. The defeat shook the players' self-confidence and followed by defeats by New Zealand and Spain. A glimmer of hope was given by the victory against the Italians, however, in the decisive match for placement in the quarterfinals, Serbia and Montenegro lost to China by a score of 67-66. In the thriller match, the unsolvable enigma was represented by the Chinese giant and NBA Star Yao Ming. The nightmarish Olympic tournament, the Blues finished in a disappointing 11th place, which is the worst result of the national team in the history of the Olympic Games.
Serbian national basketball team - European Championship in Serbia and Montenegro
For the third time in the history, Belgrade was elected for the European Championship host in 2005. Our most trophy-winning coach, Mr. Zeljko Obradovic, led the team from the bench. Despite the disastrous tournament at the Olympic Games last year, expectations were the highest. The players and the selector were eager to lighten their cheeks after the failure in the previous tournament. At the beginning of the championship, an old acquaintance, the Spanish national team was waiting. Although without the first star Paul Gasol, the Spanish national team easily overcame the national team of Serbia and Montenegro, with a score of 89:70. By the end of the group stage, victories over the national teams of Israel and Latvia were expected and easily won, so the Blues were about to meet with the French national team in the eighth finals. A shocking defeat followed. Namely, even a double-digit advantage was not enough for the Blues to go further, so the French national team won with a score of 74:71. At the same time, this defeat marked the beginning of the end of one era, because in addition to the resignation of the coach Obradović, Dejan Bodiroga, Dejan Tomašević, Vlado Šćepanović and Željko Rebrača (heart problem) were saying goodbye to the national team.
2006 World Cup in Japan
Although it did not qualify for the World Cup in Japan, the Serbian national basketball team received a special invitation to play. The federation of Serbia and Montenegro broke up, and the national team was led from the bench by Mr. Dragan Šakota. Already at the start, there was a shock and defeat from Nigeria. The team consolidated to some extent and won against France, Lebanon, and Venezuela. As expected, the national team suffered a defeat from the ambitious Argentines, so the "Red Fury", the national team of Spain, was waiting in the eighth-finals. Again, for the 5th time in a row, the Spanish national team defeated the Blues, who again finished the tournament disappointingly, already in the eighth-finals.
The Serbian national basketball team - new beginnings and first independent appearance
At the previous championship in Japan, the anthem "Hey Slavs" was sung for the last time. Serbia, as the legal successor of the former Serbia and Montenegro, secured participation in the European Championship in Spain in 2007. The national team of Serbia, led from the bench by Moko Slavnić, completely rejuvenated the team, and at the average age of 22, it was convincingly the youngest team. The first captain of the independent national team was Milan Gurović, and numerous young players have joined the team, who in the years ahead will form the backbone of the team that returned Serbia to the paths of old glory. The rejuvenated (then Mosquitoes) members of the Serbian national team bravely dealt with the current European champions, the Greek national team, and the extremely strong Russian national team (led by Andrei Kirelenko). Due to a combination of strange circumstances and, above all, the inexperience of the national team members, Serbia occupies the worst ranking in its history - 14th position.
Serbian national basketball team - Return to the paths of old glory
After a series of dry years, for the first time since 1995, Serbia was looking for a place at the Eurobasket in Poland through a qualifying tournament. An experienced coach, Mr. Dušan Ivković, has been appointed as the national team head-coach, otherwise another returnee to the "hot" coach's bench. The Serbian national team finishes the qualifications convincingly with 7 victories and only one defeat. Nenad Krstic has been appointed captain of the Serbian national basketball team. Duda Ivković continued to rely on young forces, so the team included Miloš Teodosić, Milenko Tepić, Ivan Paunić, Nemanja Bjelica, Novica Veličković and the youngest wing center Milan Macvan.
In the first match of the championship, the basketball national team of Serbia met again with the then favored national team of Spain. Completely unexpectedly, the Serbian national team won 66: 57. The joy and euphoria did not last long because the basketball team was defeated by the Slovenian national team in the next match with the result of 80:69. In the last match of the first group phase, the national team of Great Britain was defeated. In the next group phase, the host Poland was defeated, just like the national team of Lithuania, while the basketball team of Serbia suffered the second defeat from Turkey. In the quarterfinals, the Russian national team was defeated without any major problems, and in the semifinals, the Blues will face the debtors - the Slovenian national team. In the semifinal match, the young playmaker of the Serbian national team, Miloš Teodosić, stood out, who secured the overtime with 32 points, and then the placement in the finals and the match with the Spanish national team.
In the final, unlike the first match, Fury played a much better match. The young basketball players of Serbia did not manage to cope with the hardened Spanish aces, so the Spanish national team achieved an easy victory of 85: 63 and won the gold medal. Although the tournament ended in defeat, the European Championship in Poland represents a real turning point in the history of the Serbian national basketball team. It was a tournament that brought Serbia back to the paths of old glory!
Stay tuned for the rest of the story, where you will find out how this exciting time travel ends.
You missed the previous story, no worries! You can read it here.
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