Serbia on B92.net scanner: There's a quality for winning a medal, extra effort needed

The basketball spectacle in Stark Arena was attended by 19.150 fans, which set a new record for the FIBA qualification for Mundobasket.
Whoever watched the match between Serbia and Greece definitely did not regret it. Spectacular basketball in the capital of our country was followed throughout the Old Continent, and a direct duel between two NBA stars, Nikola Joki and Giannis Antetokounmpo, attracted special attention.
The popular "Joker" finished the match with 29 points, while Giannis scored an incredible 40. However, the Serbian center had much more reason to celebrate at the end of the game.
No matter how strange it sounds from this distance, one gets the impression that the course of the duel was determined by the first part. Both selections played in the fifth gear, which suited Dimitrios Itoudis's team better.
Many times the Greeks had situations to attack the "eagles" defense from the transition, which would usually end with attractive dunks. As many as 25 received (mostly easy) points for the quarter were a clear sign that a different approach must be taken in the sequel.
It is incomprehensible that Serbia did not "cut" the fluttering and attractive game of its rivals with fouls, which is also indicated by the fact that the first one was committed only two and a half minutes before the end of the period.
The huge offensive potential of our team allowed us to resist with 31 points in the "NBA quarter", so we could enter the second quarter with calmer heads.
Positional attacks in the sequel immediately proved successful. The "Eagles" gained a nine-point advantage after only two minutes of play, thus showing that it is not necessary to "chase" the Greeks and adapt to their style of play in order to be equal.

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