''Great to be back in the fold for Serbia,'' says elated Paunic

BELGRADE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - By suiting up for Serbia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers, Ivan Paunic is ending a five-year absence from the national team and getting to enjoy the excitement of representing his country once again.

The 30-year-old shooting guard, suiting up for his country for the first time since a FIBA EuroBasket 2013 Qualifier in September 2012, scored a game-high 16 points in Friday's 85-64 home win over Austria.

Paunic, who plays his club basketball for Spanish outfit Fuenlabrada, explained how it felt to wear the Serbian jersey again.

"It's a fantastic feeling to be back in the national team and play in front of our home fans. This is a team missing NBA and Euroleague players, but coach Aleksandar Djordjevic has put together the best side available."

"IT'S A FANTASTIC FEELING TO BE BACK IN THE NATIONAL TEAM AND PLAY IN FRONT OF OUR HOME FANS." PaunicPaunic

Paunic expressed his pleasure at the way the team has come together, in particular the integration of young upstarts. 

"I had never seen some of them play before but they have blended in seamlessly," he said.

One of these youngsters to have made an immediate impact is small forward Dejan Todorovic, who scored eight first-half points and ran tirelessly up and down the court after the break.

Dejan Todorovic provided an offensive boost in the first half against Austria

The 23-year old, who plies his trade in Spain for Bilbao, admitted he had to get over some early jitters before settling down.

"I had a bit of stage fright in the opening few minutes but as the game progressed, I became more relaxed," said Todorovic. "We all expected a more difficult outing given that we had never played together before as a team, but good defense paved the way for a smooth offense for the best part of the game."

"THERE IS SO MUCH TO LEARN FROM THE SENIOR PLAYERS ON THIS SERBIAN TEAM AND WE HAVE TO MAKE THE MOST OF THAT OPPORTUNITY."TodorovicTodorovic

Paunic pointed out that strong defense would be the key to success in Monday's game against Georgia.

"We are only going to get better as a unit and against Georgia on Monday, we have to play even tougher defense," he said.

Todorovic underlined that the newcomers on Serbia's team were always going to look up to the likes of Paunic, captain Milan Macvan, Marko Simonovic and Miroslav Raduljica, the stalwarts who have won medals in major international tournaments for their country.

"I have played with some big names in my club career but I have to stress there is so much to learn from the senior players on this Serbian team and we have to make the most of that opportunity," he said.

FIBA