Pesic: “Teodosic has never been a bench player”

Svetislav Pesic decided to leave Milos Teodosic out of the Serbia squad for next month’s 2022 Eurobasket - a decision which came as a surprise to many. The point guard, currently playing with Sergio Scariolo’s Virtus de Bologna (he averaged 11.5 points and 7.9 assists in last year’s EuroCup) is one of the most experienced members of the squad. Apart from captaining the national team, he has won three silver medals at international level - Eurobasket (2009), World Cup (2014) and the Olympic Games (2016).

Pesic explained why he took the decision to leave the 35-year-old old, and admitted that it was a difficult call to make. “I was clear with him. I told him that from what I had seen in training, I couldn’t offer him the role he’d had until now in the team. I am focusing on other players, players who I think can help the team more,” the coach said.

The former Barça coach was annoyed that the news leaked to the media before he had a chance to inform the rest of team about Teodosic. “The decision is mine and it has not been easy at all. He has been with the national team for many years and it’s not easy for his team mates either. Maybe it came as a surprise, but that’s part of the sport. There were many conversations on the matter. Of course he is the captain, a great point guard and a great basketball player, but he has never been a bench player. I told him I have better than him to fill that position,” Pesic continued

He went on to add that his selections are not based on the twelve best players but the twelve who work best as a team. “Milos thanked me for being clear and I thanked him for the way he took the news”.

Vasilije Micic, MVP of the last two Euroleague Final Fours with Anadolu Efes, will be the starting point guard for a Serbian team which, for now, also has two other players in the same position: Vanja Marinkovic and Nemanja Nedovic.