MANILA (Philippines) - Svetislav Pesic walks a bit more gingerly. But the Serbian head coach is still fiery when patrolling the sidelines at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

And he is two wins from making history.

Pesic turned 74 years old three days after the 2023 World Cup tipped off last month. Should Serbia be crowned champions on September 10, he would become the oldest winning playcaller in World Cup history.

Mike Krzyzewski at the 2014 World Cup

The current record holder is Mike Krzyzewski, who was 67 years old when he guided United States to the title in 2014.

While he would surpass Krzyzewski on the one record, Pesic would pull even with Krzyzewski on another mark. Krzyzewski is one of three coaches to guide their national team to two World Cup crowns, getting the first in 2010.

Togo Renan Soares

Togo Renan Soares - aka Kanela - took Brazil to back-to-back trophies in 1959 and 1963; and coaching legend Alexander Gomelsky was at the helm for Soviet Union's titles in 1967 and 1982.

Alexander Gomelsky (right)

Pesic had his fair share of success. He coached Yugoslavia to the cadets (1985) and juniors (1986) European Championships as well as the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 1987, the latter where he coached Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja.

Pesic is the only coach to guide two different countries to the FIBA EuroBasket championship - Germany in 1993 and Yugoslavia in 2001. And he also coached Yugoslavia to the country’s final World Cup crown in 2002 in Indianapolis.

Svetislav Pesic (in middle) after winning the 2002 title

"I will never forget Indianapolis 2002,” the FIBA Hall of Fame 2020 inductee Pesic told Mozzartsport during celebrations of the 20th anniversary last September. “Wonderful memories with a fantastic group of guys. What I remember the most was the homecoming party, from the airport to the city center in Belgrade, with our fans on the balconies. If I hadn't lived that, I would've been robbed of a gigantic experience. The whole country lived for our success."

Just Pesic being on the sidelines at a World Cup at age 74 impresses one of his colleagues, Argentina tactician Sergio Hernandez.

Sergio Hernandez at the 2019 World Cup

"He's doing an incredible job. When you are that competitive, I do not care how old you are. What matters is what you do every day, your routines, your day-to-day discipline. He's coaching during the season, he's fit, he's ready," said the now 59-year-old Hernandez who coached Argentina to the second place at the 2019 World Cup, the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics and five FIBA AmeriCup podium finishes.

"I'm really happy for him. Coaching is a very stressful job you know. But you can see that all of players have bought in with him."

Despite some physical limitations due to his age, Pesic is showing in Manila that his mind is just as sharp as ever. At the outset of the team's training camp, the coach came up with the team slogan "All for one and one for all." 

Serbia dropped just one game thus far and otherwise stormed to the Semi-Finals showdown with Canada, winning their other five games by an average of 20.0 points. Serbia are doing it with a highly disciplined defense and a high-octane and efficient offense.

"He's a great coach. I like how his team plays. When you watch his team play, you don't even need to know he is coach to understand it's his team," said Italy's 77-year-old assistant coach Carlo Recalcati, who coached the Italian national team from 2001 to 2009.

Hernandez agreed with Recalcati's opinion, saying: "Watching this Serbian team, you can tell this is a Pesic team. Defense, focus, the ball going in, going out, good shot selection. On all this, he is one of the best coaches in FIBA history."

If Serbia finish the job, Svetislav Pesic will cement his legacy with another record.

FIBA