Serbia gave Team USA everything they got, leading by 17 points in the first half and holding a 13-point advantage before the fourth quarter. But LeBron James and Steph Curry stood on their way, mounting a comeback for the history books. Although Svetislav Pesic had defeated the US in the 2002 FIBA World Cup, he couldn’t repeat the feat this time.
In the end, Serbia fell to Team USA, and coach Svetislav Pesic expressed frustration with the officiating in the semifinal.
Svetislav Petic criticizing the calls in the semifinal
Serbia's head coach, Pesic, was critical of the officiating in the game against Team USA, claiming that Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic should have had more opportunities to shoot free throws.
“There is a rule that we use a lot in Serbia. And that is, the one who loses has the right to be angry. I’m not angry at all, I’m proud of everything we’ve done so far,” Pesic said while speaking to the media.
“With all the problems we have. You saw that Milutinov had a fever for two days and played sick. The same with Jovic. Our rotation has decreased. Both gave as much as they could. Let’s see if we can recover them to have a bigger rotation in the game against the Germans,” he continued.
“I’m not looking for any excuses, I just want to say… The one who loses has the right to be angry. Why am I angry? Because we didn’t get respect from the judges here. Not only in this game,” added Pesic.
Not the same Serbian team from the friendlies and the group phase
Serbia demonstrated they had been holding back during their exhibition game in Abu Dhabi and their initial matchup at the Olympics group stages.
By the time Serbia reached the semifinals, their defense was exceptional, employing a mix of zone, matchup zone, and man-to-man strategies that forced multiple errors from the USA offense but it still wasn’t enough to topple the mighty American team.
“I don’t talk about it too much, but I have to say it. Because if one of the best players in the world, if not the best, shoots only four free throws in 37 minutes, and every other offense he has the ball in his hands. And if our second-best player, Bogdanovic, shoots only one free throw in 32 minutes, and every second or third attack he has the ball, then strange things happened.” said Pesic complaining about the calls during the semifinals.
Team USA shot 9/14 from the free throw line while Serbia shot 10/12 at the stripe.
Pesic frustrated with the referees
Despite congratulating the American team and wishing them success in the finals, Pesic expressed his frustration about what he perceived as a “lack of respect” from the referees.
“I’m not underestimating, I congratulate the Americans, I wish them much success in the finals. But tonight strange things were happening. I don’t know if you saw it. I am calm. I’m not angry, I’m proud, I’m disappointed because we didn’t get respect for this team, not Serbia as a basketball nation, from the refs,” he said.
“And that’s one of the reasons we didn’t complete this magnificent game we played today. But that’s how it is. We have to forget that and get ready for the next game.”
Nikola Jokic got on foul trouble early in the fourth but still logged 38 minutes on the court, recording 17 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 points, while Aleksa Avramovic finished with 15 points.
Serbia now needs to regroup quickly after this tough loss as they prepare to face the reigning World Champions, Germany, in an early Saturday morning game with hopes of finishing the Olympics on the podium.
Meanwhile, Team USA is set to face host France in the championship game, a highly anticipated rematch of the Tokyo Olympics final.
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