Milutinov: “We were trying to find blood for Simanic – We will fight for him”

The basketball community has been shocked with him serious injury to Borisa Simanicwho after his collision with Nouni Omot in Serbia’s match with South Sudan lost a kidney!

Before his team’s game Svetislav Pesic with Lithuania for the quarter-finals of the World Cup, the center of Olympiakos, Nikola Milutinovgave statements and mentioned, among other things, that after the game the players of Serbia did not sleep, as they tried to find blood and help the Simanic.

For the quarter final: “Lithuania is a very good team, we saw how they played against USA. They play very physical, with a lot of energy and are the favorites of the match».

On the marking of Valanciunas: “It will be difficult, we have to play team defense, not one-on-one and we are prepared. It is not only Valanciunas but also Motiejunas. They have a very quality roster».

As for whether the score will go up: “It will be a difficult game, not with many points. But we’ll see tomorrow».

On facing Karl-Anthony-Towns: “He is an amazing player and it was a great experience for me to play against him».

On whether Lithuania will lose their minds after beating USA: “I don’t think it affects them. They will forget the victory and come with a very good mentality».

About what happened to Borisa Simanic: “It’s very hard for us, we heard what happened and at first we didn’t believe it. It affected us and we pray for him to get well as soon as possible. We found out last night that he had to have another operation. We pray he gets well soon. We will fight for him to make him proud.

We didn’t sleep after the game, we were trying to get blood for him because he was losing enough. It was a difficult time for everyone and I wish this never happens to anyone in the world. It was very difficult, at first I didn’t think something like this could happen, an injury like this in basketball».

Nikola Milutinov spoke about the situation in the national team of Serbia, after the serious injury of Boris Simanic, described the last few hours and made it clear that his team wants to succeed for him as well.

Borisa Simanic lost one of his kidneys following a challenge against South Sudan and the last few hours have been dramatic in the camp of Svetislav Pesic’s side as everyone tried to do their best to get him better.

Nikola Milutinov was one of the players who lived through the situation of the Serbian ace and described to the Greek journalists who are in Manila in the last hours and the effort made by the national team of Serbia to find blood for Simanic.

“It’s really hard when we heard what happened. We didn’t believe it,” said “Milou” at first, then added that “it was so bad. It really affected us and we will play for him to get well as soon as possible. He has to undergo another operation. We are all with him and pray that he gets well soon.”

This situation has in fact brought another motivation to the national team of Serbia in view of the knockout games of the World Cup. “Of course it’s motivation. We will fight for him and try to make him proud.”

But how did this disaster affect the Olympiakos center himself? “We didn’t sleep after the game. We were trying to find blood for him because there was none. It was a difficult situation, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It was difficult. I couldn’t believe it when it happened. To have an injury like that is a disaster.”

At the same time, however, the Serbians should also focus on a very big game coming up, this one against Lithuania, whose prize is qualification to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

For this reason, Milutinov emphasized that “Lithuania is a very good team and showed how they play against the USA. It will be difficult for us. They play athletically, with energy and we have to match their energy in the game.”

The Serbian center will be asked to mark the absolute leader of the Lithuanians, Jonas Valanciunas. A match up that is expected to decide a lot in the game. “It’s tough, we have to play as a team against him. It’s not just him though, it’s also Moteyounas. They have quality and score a lot.”

Both teams score a lot in the tournament, so everyone expects a high score on Tuesday. Nevertheless, the experienced center clarified that “I think the game will be very difficult, not so many points will be scored. But we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Lithuania is coming off a win against Team USA, but no one in the Serbian camp expects them to hang on to that result. “They will forget this victory and play with confidence against us with the aim of beating us”, were the words of Milutinov.

The action of the World Cup held in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan is peaking and Sportal.gr is here to inform you with validity and speed. The progress and news of our National Team, but also of all the teams, the schedule and results of the matches are here, so you don’t miss the details of Mundobasket 2023.