DESPITE being the overwhelming favorites in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia knows all too well that games aren't won on paper but rather, on the court.
It's the mentality the hosts are taking as the games begin on Wednesday.
"We will not underestimate any of these teams," said coach Igor Kokoskov. "It’s not about a name, it’s about a game. Names are not playing, games are being played by the players. So we have to bring our best game and to play our best basketball."
Serbia is missing some of its top stars like 2021 NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Atlanta Hawks, but that shouldn't be an excuse for the team to slack off.
The Serbians, after all, are the silver medalists from the 2016 Rio Olympics and are currently ranked No. 5 in the world.
In comparison, Dominican Republic is only ranked 19th, and the Philippines 31st. It also holds a better standing than the Group B teams, with Italy ranked 10th and Puerto Rico 18th.
No Jokic, no problem
Kokoskov also brought a formidable crew led by Adriatic League MVP Filip Petrusev, Euroleague MVP Vasilije Micic, Dallas Mavericks cener Boban Marjanovic, Miami Heat forward Nemanja Bjelica, and national team veteran Milos Teodosic.
Only four of the players which played for Serbia in the 2019 Fiba World Cup in China are back, which puts more pressure on Kokoskov to hammer down his system in this new-look crew ahead of its jousts against Dominican Republic on Wednesday and Gilas Pilipinas on Thursday, both Manila time.
"We have to focus on ourselves and we are a completely new. We just started playing together," said the former Phoenix Suns coach. "We’re focusing mainly on ourselves and trying to incorporate all these information that we have with the guys just to focus on ourselves."
"Of course, we have a lot of respect for all these teams that are playing, and everyone’s playing basketball. It’s not a enough that we’re just showing up. We’re gonna give respect and we’re gonna focus on ourselves and give our best game, and again, we are not underestimating any of these teams."
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