Petrovic: 'Our last chance to win a medal'
RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Few teams at the Rio Olympics can be as surprising as Serbia, but as they prepare to take on France in Saturday's Bronze Medal Game, Sonja Petrovic is urging her teammates to regroup, refocus and get ready for the do-or-die situation.
"A medal is better than no medal because a fourth-place is probably the worst place in the tournament." - Petrovic
After winning EuroBasket Women last summer, Serbia opened their Rio campaign on a negative note losing three straight games in Group B. They bounced back with two victories, before eliminating powerhouse Australia in the Quarter-Finals.
Olympics: Sloppy Opals eliminated by Serbia as team rue missed opportunities https://t.co/rURUOyMMVB by @cp_chalmers pic.twitter.com/877acY7BsA
— The Pick and Roll (@PickandRollAU) August 16, 2016
Against the odds, the Serbs were unable to stop Spain in the Semi-Finals and are now facing a must-win situation.
Spain rocks Serbia to earn trip to gold medal game in women's hoops #rio2016 https://t.co/hs7uK4P4o1 pic.twitter.com/ayX0zXKLTL
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 18, 2016
“For us, a bronze medal will be a great accomplishment," Petrovic said to FIBA.com. "This being our first Olympics, if we can win a medal, it will be a dream come true."
Whether or not Serbia can beat France, the truth is that they keep good memories of Les Bleues. France was the team they beat in the EuroBasket Women Final and are a side they believe they can match up against.
"We just need to refocus and try to find our inner strength and respond the respond the proper way," Petrovic explained. "It's not gonna be easy but you have to do it. It's our last chance to win a medal. A medal is better than no medal because a fourth-place is probably the worst place in the tournament."
FIBA
