Pešić announced the list, officially, Serbia without Jokić!

Pešić announced the list, officially, Serbia without Jokić!

Serbia will play in Manila in Group B with South Sudan, China and Puerto Rico.

The top two teams will form a new group in the second round with two teams from Group A, which includes Angola, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines and Italy.

Serbia will open the tournament on August 26 against China, two days later they play against Puerto Rico, and then on August 30 against South Sudan.

The matches of the second stage will be played on September 1 and 3, the quarter-finals on September 5 and 6, the semi-finals on September 8, and the final is scheduled for September 10. "If injuries do not bother us, which is an integral part, that's why we enter the training process carefully. The captain worked with full strength, he trained the most, we'll see if he can transfer that training to the game."

"I wouldn't raise emotional slogans like that, we spoke quite clearly on that topic earlier, we don't go back to what happened in the past and how it was. We are making sure that all these guys, who accepted the invitation, take advantage of the opportunity. I am sure that they are looking forward to the invitation, and some of the players we have mentioned here, there are no secrets. I assume that other fans are disappointed, because they think that the real truth is not being told, but there is no real truth. What I am communicating is the truth. I have no reason not to tell the real truth. All the players were interviewed. The priorities in life have changed, they are not the priorities like 20 years ago, and even then, there were cancellations. Both in the generation of Sasa (Danilović) and before Sasa. There were always cancellations. Legends canceled because they were not physically and mentally ready. They always have subjective reasons.

They talked on a gentlemanly, friendly level, I accept that. I'm sorry, as you all are. Of course, I'm a little disappointed when important players can't play. Our goals will not change. They remain the same, we want to go to the Olympics at any cost. Everyone is ready to give their maximum. Our goal is the Olympic Games.

There are no secrets'', Pesic pointed out.

"We start with preparations on July 28, these days until the start of official training, so to speak, we want to use it for seeing each other, to carry out all activities and obligations to our sponsors, to carry out all possible tests, health examinations, so that players who are under the pressure of injuries, long seasons... that's what most of them do, so that they can be well prepared."

"I would like to finish, if I may, with the notion that we are not improving in Serbian basketball. You should immediately know that the best part of Serbian basketball is the players. And I know who the players are, their flaws and qualities, both human and professional. I trained a lot of our guys, fat, skinny... these guys are the best part of Serbian basketball. If basketball in Serbia doesn't change, we will all be happy to qualify... there will be no medals.

In Serbia, we have a situation where basketball is becoming a means to an end, but not an end in itself. When basketball was the goal, then we achieved great results. If that doesn't change, by God, those on the left, close to Italy, will laugh at us. So, support these selected players, because they have heart and knowledge and talent."