Serbian ace Vasic chasing another indescribable Olympic feeling

BELGRADE (Serbia) - As one of the most renowned European players of the modern era, the classy Serbian national team leader Sonja Vasic takes everything wonderfully in her stride as she graces the court. 

If you want to throw a real challenge her way, asking her to try and encapsulate the joy of stepping out at the Olympics sees her scrambling to try and somehow effectively summarize exactly what it means.

"UNTIL YOU GO TO THE OLYMPICS, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON." - Vasic

 She doesn't find it easy, and who can blame her? Serbia not only made history with their first ever appearance when they featured in 2016, but they also rode their way to the last podium step.

"For us, Rio was a dream come true. It was the first time that we qualified and we went on to win that medal, so the experience was truly amazing," declared Vasic.

"Until you go to the Olympics, you don't know what you are missing out on. It is such an eye-opening adventure, just being part of the Olympic family.

"Being there with the best athletes of Serbia and in the world, gives you that special feeling of having made it. The Olympics is the dream for every athlete and we don't want it to have been a one time thing. We want to go back there and to get ourselves to Tokyo.

"Qualifying is another major goal for us. The medals are great but it is really about the pride we would have from getting continuity and qualifying for another Olympic Games."

She continued: "Every year we continue to build the legacy for Serbian women's basketball and we don't want to miss out on any big events.

"Quality-wise we don't have the roster of some other countries, but we have the chemistry and we trust in each other - something which can be just as important.

"I hope making it to Tokyo can be an experience for some of the new faces and younger players we have, because like I said, you can talk about it, but really you can't truly describe it."

Now Vasic is bidding to recapture that euphoria by making it past the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, being held on patriotic Serbian soil. An opening night defeat to the USA is not likely to derail their status as a favorite to progress to the Japanese capital, although the forward appreciates that expectation is always huge .

But, the experience of being co-hosts of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 is likely to stand them in good stead, having dealt with some tricky preparation to pick up a bronze medal. It's one that Vasic rates as the best yet - even if Serbia can boast gold from 2015, plus that third-place at their maiden Olympics.

She explained: "For us it is a huge deal playing at home and especially because of the fact we are getting a lot of support from the fans and from an organization and travelling perspective, everything has been much easier.

"We are just glad that we have been given another chance to play in front of our home crowd and to give them the opportunity to see some of the best basketball teams in the world.

"WITH ALL OF THE ADVERSITY WE HAD TO GO THROUGH, MAYBE THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MEDAL WE EVER WON." - VASIC

 
"Especially with the USA being here in Belgrade and then having also moved the other tournament (from Foshan), it is such a great spectacle for women's basketball.

"The fans in Serbia are tough on each sport and it is kind of a religion for them so you have to show that you are representing the country in a proper way.

"The expectations are always huge and it wasn't easy giving them the medal that they wanted last year, since we had some problems in the preparations with injuries and pregnancy. We struggled at times, but the core of the group was the same and the coach was also the same and in control. That always gives us some kind of edge of our opponents.

"The goal that we had was huge from an emotional perspective and with all of the adversity that we had to go through, maybe that was actually the biggest medal we ever won," mused Vasic.

The task lying in front of Serbia in the next few days may look simple of course and they will be expected to roll over African duo Nigeria and Mozambique, but Vasic was quick to fire a warning shot anyone thinking the outcomes are done and dusted.

She claimed: "A lot of people think we got an easy group and that we got lucky, but I think the contrary because most people aren't appreciating what tough opponents we have.

"Having USA first can have an impact on your mindset. Meanwhile we then have two teams who are changing the scenery of African basketball. We saw it at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Tenerife when Nigeria played really great. They played very physically and for us it is nothing less than a big task.

"Even if everyone else thinks it is already done and we are already there. We have our feet on the ground and mentally, we are aiming to stay in control and don't see ourselves as already in Tokyo. We have to be focused completely on these Nigeria and Mozambique games."

"ME AND MARTA HAVE TALKED A LOT ABOUT TOKYO BECAUSE IT'S A BIG POINT FOR US IN BOTH OF OUR CAREERS." - Vasic

Meanwhile the Serbian star is also known for the special friendship she has with her Spar Citylift Girona teammate, Marta Xargay of Spain. The duo both made the FIBA Women's EuroBasket All-Star Five last year in Belgrade. 

Recently the pair have been working to take their club towards the EuroLeague Women post-season, but Vasic confessed that the topic of national team basketball and the Olympics has been on their agenda too.

"Ever since the last FIBA Women's EuroBasket, me and Marta have talked a lot about Tokyo because it's a big point for us in both of our careers," she declared.

"We discuss it a lot by step by step and I know Spain are like us in terms of people thinking they are also already there. But when you have been around for a long time and seen so much at the top level, you know how much it actually takes to get the job done!

"I am taking nothing at all for granted," underlined Vasic. 

FIBA