Photo credit: FIBA / fiba.basketball
Serbian national basketball team head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic led the team to three silver medals at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and 2017 FIBA EuroBasket in Turkey.
According to FIBA, coach Djordjevic will be heading to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 looking for something bigger than "just" a podium finish. The Serbia national team head coach is out to achieve "sports greatness" in China.
Drawn in Group D, world #4 Serbia will play #39 Angola on August 31, then #31 Philippines on September 2 and #13 Italy on September 4 in the group stage. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the 2nd Round.
"We respect every opponent, but we want to win every game,"
"The draw doesn't change our plan, or our goal. The goal is always the same, to win a medal. Serbia is always going for a medal, and I’m not saying we will always get to the podium, but it has to be a goal."
"Italy is a team with a tradition, with a desire to prove their strength. Angola is a strong athletic team, hungry for success on the international scene. They have been dominant in Africa for some years now. And the Philippines is a country with the biggest passion for basketball, full of surprises and with some NBA players,"
"As a head coach, I have an obligation to put on the list our best players that are in the best shape, but also that deserve to be invited on a preliminary list because of their behavior,"
"After that, the list gets smaller and players decide if they want to participate in a competition we are preparing for. I said this a long time ago: injury is the only reason that I accept." Djordjevic told FIBA.