Serbian National Team will play their last preparation game in Serbia against Lithuania on Saturday 10th of August in “Štark” Arena and head coach of the team Aleksandar Đorđević announced that match.
“We are going in the good direction with our preparations. We played against Finland and Nikola Jokić joined us in the yesterday’s practice. We are expecting physically demanding match against Lithuania tomorrow. They are building their own recognizable style of play that are giving results. After the game, we are going to Lithuania, to play another game in fantastic atmosphere. They have the best fans who are following national team, they make a brand out of it. So I know we will play in a beautiful atmosphere there“, said Đorđević at the press conference day before the last match in Serbia.
“As you know, three players are not continuing preparation process with us – Avramović, Jovanović and Todorović. They did a great job, they replaced guys who weren’t able to join us from the beginning, and I am very thankful for that“, Đorđević thanked three players who were from the beginning with a team and till the latest cut.
“I am glad we are playing in Belgrade now. A lot of tickets are already sold, and I am hoping even more. Guys will appreciate that and it will mean a lot to them. They are absolutely aware of the fans’ support and how it can be helpful“, said Serbian head coach who mentioned that for all athletes there are no more “friendly” games.
“Preparations are too demanding that there are no more “friendly” games. There are preparation games but no friendly. Pride is so big in every team and all of those teams are eager to win, and so we are too. My motto is that every upcoming game is most important one in the career. We are still working on our well-known game, physically tough game and defense and it us up to us to, as soon as possible, be in that rhythm. In the previous years we gain a lot by applying that style with recognizable offense. There are no selfish plays, on the contrary. That is how we build our offensive philosophy, with standard defensive, that helped us a lot“, said Đorđević at the press conference.
He added that Bogdan Bogdanović is clear to play after Serbian National Federation with a help of Serbian Government paid extra insurance in order for him to play. Now, him and other NBA players will help Serbia in the World Cup 2019, in China.
All NBA players joined later to their National teams due to NBA propositions, and that is a case with Serbian players.
“All of them work by themselves and they are in good shape, but in the end we will see if it was a good or bad. If everything goes as we planed, we will say it was good. And if not, we will have some excuses I don’t like to use. I am not fan of excuses before the big competitions. I think that players, during this preparation period and in those games, especially at Acropolis Cup, where we play three games in three days, will get in the best possible shape“, said Aleksandar Đorđević.
