Milovanovic: 'This means the world to us'
RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - For the second time in just over a year, Serbia have upset France in the most critical moment of a major tournament.
RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - For the second time in just over a year, Serbia have upset France in the most critical moment of a major tournament.
This time around they did it in remarkable fashion with the pair of Jelena Milovanovic and Danielle Page playing a major role in helping Serbia clinch the bronze medal at the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament.
#Rio2016: Serbia beats France 70-63 to win bronze https://t.co/OKnFESa8I8 #SRB
— Hoopfeed.com (@hoopfeed) August 20, 2016
After coming out of nowhere to beat the French in the Final of EuroBasklet Women 2015, the Serbs proved again how unpredictable they can become by beating France 70-63 on Saturday to claim a medal in their Olympic debut.
"This means the world to us," Milovanovic said. "This is a dream come true to us and I am really happy to be a part of this team. This is great for our country and I hope little girls will be encouraged to play basketball because this is a beautiful sport."
After getting off to a poor start in Rio - they lost their first three games - somehow the Serbs bounced back to stun the world.
"We love to start like that so that people underestimate us," Milovanovic said a smile. "I am sure everybody was thinking the European champions came to Rio and did nothing. But we had three tough opponents Spain, Canada, and the USA all of them in our group [Group B].
And Milovanovic's numbers against France didn't go unnoticed.
#Rio2016 - Jelena Milovanovic est la MVP de la rencontre... On n'oublie pas la bonne performance d'@Endidi711 pic.twitter.com/jFNte5X90E
— Parlons Basket (@ParlonsBasket) August 20, 2016
"I am sad that we didn't do a good job against Spain, but that's for the best," said Milovanovic who led the Serbs with a team-high 17 points.
Page came up big hitting 2 of her 3 three-point attempts against France and the result is what she calls history.
In her second tournament with Serbia, Page proved a key member of the team
"It's been an incredible ride," Page said. "Back last summer, the goal was to qualify for the Olympics. At the beginning of the training camp, the goal was to pass the Group Stage and... to win a bronze medal in the fashion that we did, beating Australia, getting smashed by Spain and bouncing back in a game like this, it's been a rollercoaster."
FIBA