The scene where Novak Djokovic showed up at the hotel to personally congratulate the Serbian players on their victory over Greece after extra time in Belgrade shows the pressure that their match had on the youngsters of the big plavi school. “… with” blue and white “.

The top tennis player was one of the many famous athletes who took a seat at Stark Arena to enjoy the game up close, not only because of her high rating, especially for the home team, but also because of the mythical coexistence. on the same (European) court of the last two MVPs in the wizarding world of the NBA.

The titanic battle between Giannis Antetokounmpo (NBA Most Valuable Player in 2019 and 2020) and Nikola Jokic (Most Valuable Player in 2021 and 2022) created huge anticipation and was the main reason why basketball greats like Obradovic appeared next to Djokovic , Malkovich, Bodiroga, Danilovich and Savich. It’s hard to say who won in the end. Greek Freak broke records (40 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 kg) and became the first Greek basketball player since 1989 and Nikos Galis with 40 points in the national team game, as well as Jokic (29 p., 8 p. And 6 ace. ) did not go back.

Giannis won the individual event, and Jokic won the team event, so it is still difficult to determine the real winner of the fight.

Despite the loss to Serbia, the sign remains positive until… self-evident things are done later.

The fate of the game was determined by absenteeism, which both teams had a lot of. The Serbs were without Belica, Bogdanovic, Marjanovic, Pokuchevski, Jovic and Nedovic, plus Misic, who was injured early and withdrew. Ours are less similar (Papayannis, Papapetrou and Kostas Antetonkumbo, who was knocked out just before Misic), but they were more principled. Without a tower in the racket, it seemed unlikely that the Serbian front line could face players of the level of Jokic-Miludinov. Yet Itoudis found a way to make up for lost time and our national team remained competitive until the end.

Despite the loss, our national team remains positive and is still considered the favorite to qualify for the Mundobasket until they then do… self-evident things, starting with tomorrow’s game against Belgium in a packed OAKA. . Participation of Kostas Antetokounmpo – Sluka remains in doubt (MRI results are expected on his knees) and this question mark creates a “headache” against a close-knit and tough team that (like Latvia) took advantage of the lack of “big” in the “windows” competition and hopelessly entered claims to one of the three preferred seats.

Schedule for tomorrow (20.00): Greece – Belgium, Great Britain – Latvia, Turkey – Serbia. Score: Latvia 4:1, Greece 3:2, Belgium 3:2, Serbia 2:3, Turkey 2:3, Great Britain 1:4.