BELGRADE (Serbia) - It has been more than a decade since Serbia's Nikola Jokic last stepped on the court at Belgrade's Pionir Arena and the Denver Nuggets center is excited to play in front of his home fans again.
And as he gets used to his new captain duties, Jokic believes that the atmosphere when they take on Bosnia and Herzegovina will be unlike anything else, having sampled the loyal Serbian support in Fribourg on Thursday in their 97-73 triumph over Switzerland, which punched their ticket to the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.
"It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been the captain of a team, and it means a lot to me."
"If it felt like home over there, we can only imagine what it’s going to be like here," Jokic said.
"It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been the captain of a team, and it means a lot to me. I told the guys after the game that I’ll remember this for the rest of my life because it means so much to me. It’s a wonderful feeling."
And, motivated by Serbian support, Jokic delivered a performance worthy of his stature, finishing with 22 points and 14 rebounds. However, Serbia's impressive ball movement was a major factor in the win, as the team recorded 32 assists, with Jokic dishing out seven of those, highlighting the unselfishness of their team play.
But, despite the solid showing, Jokic still saw room for improvement.
"From the very beginning, the head coach wanted us to play that way—to emphasize ball movement, make the extra pass, and find the best possible shot," Jokic recalled.
"I think we did that for most of the game. We even missed some open looks, but we consistently created good shots, which says a lot about our approach.
"Defensively, we weren’t as good, especially in the first quarter. We started the game poorly and struggled until halftime. In the third quarter and early in the fourth, we brought much better energy, the momentum shifted in our favor, and that’s what decided the game."
Now that they have finally secured their qualification, Serbia will aim to build on the momentum they have into the next phase of the competition, with one game remaining in the third window.
Serbia concludes its third qualifying window with a highly anticipated home matchup against the Bosnians, renewing a rivalry that produced one of the most thrilling contests of the World Cup Qualifying campaign so far.
When the sides met in Sarajevo, Serbia escaped with a dramatic 74-72 victory after a fiercely contested battle. Jokic knows another tough challenge awaits, as Bosnia & Herzegovina has also secured a place in the Second Round and will arrive in Belgrade determined to avenge that narrow defeat.
"As a team, they’re very tough to play against," Jokic says. "They’re all strong, tall, long, and physical. Their aggressiveness won’t surprise us. We know what to expect, and now it’s up to us to impose our own physicality and aggressiveness. We saw how they played against Türkiye, and we can’t allow them to have more energy than we do."
FIBA