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FIBA|
Pesic expects big things again from
Team USA, Spain
 SANTA
CRUZ DE TENERIFE (2010 FIBA World Championship) - The man who led
the former Yugoslavia to glory at the 2002 FIBA World Championship,
Svetislav Pesic, sees the United States claiming the world title
later this year in Turkey.
And if not the men wearing red, white and blue? Pesic says Spain,
the side the United States beat in a memorable 2008 Olympic Final,
could repeat as champions. "The favorites, as always, are the
United States," Pesic said. "Spain (chances) will depend
on whether it goes with the entire team with Pau Gasol and its other
big players with experience.
"But Spain is Spain and has the capacity to win the gold medal.
"In a tournament like this, there will always be a surprise,
but I think the big favorites are Spain and the United States."
Pesic is one of the great coaches in international basketball, a
man who led Germany to a EuroBasket gold in 1993. However, it was
the more recent success he had with Yugoslavia, and a treble-winning
Barcelona in 2002-03, that most people remember. Indianapolis marked
the first time a USA team of NBA players failed to win the gold
medal at an Olympics or a FIBA World Championship.
Yugoslavia won that year after beating the United States 81-78 in
the Quarter-Finals, New Zealand 89-78 in the Semi-Finals and Argentina
84-77 in the Final after overtime. Pesic, who was doing a basketball
clinic in Tenerife, Spain, at CB La Matanza, could not be any more
complimentary of Gasol – a teammate of Lakers superstar Kobe
Bryant. "Pau is as always," he said in remarks published
on the ACB website. "Right now, he is for sure, the most important
player of the (Los Angeles) Lakers. "Without Pau, the Lakers
are a different team. "With him, they are a team that can win
the ring again. "He is not just one of the best European players
to have played in the NBA, but also in his position in all-time
history."
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