Nemanja Bjelica spoke with FIBA and referred to Serbia’s defeat to Greece on Thursday (70-63) as well as his presence in the national team.
Here is what the Sacramento Kings’ forward said:
On the loss to Greece: “We missed some players, but we have to play better in the following game (against Estonia) and then in November to beat Israel and then to qualify for the World Cup.
Here, in Europe, it’s all about the team. Offense and defense as well. I have missed European basketball. That’s why we lost the game against Greece. We didn’t play as a team and Greece played as a team and in front of their crowd, Greece always plays at the highest level.”
On his presence in the national team: “I missed the national team a lot. I do feel great to be back after the two summers that I didn’t play. But against Greece, we did look a lot like a team.
That’s why need to change things. For Serbia, it’s not good to play like this. We definitely need to play much better.”
On not playing in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: “It was terrible watching the national team during the winter (the first and second windows of Qualifiers), because I wasn’t able to be there.
I spent seven years playing for Serbia and it was very emotional watching them play without me. I just want to be healthy and ready to play for the national team.”
