Rio Olympics silver medal a big deal for Serbia

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Nine days ago, Serbia may have lost to the USA for the second time in the Final of a major tournament in the space of two years, but claiming a silver medal at the Rio Olympics was huge for the Balkan country.

A couple of years after being blown out by the Americans in the Final of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Serbians headed to Rio significantly more ambitious even knowing they were going up against the 12 best national teams in the world.

"We won our goal. We came from Serbia, and our goal was a medal, and we won the medal, so that's a big thing for us." - Jokic

All they wanted was their first Olympic medal achieved under the flag of the Republic of Serbia.

The much hard-fought piece of silverware came as did the joy in a country where basketball is often described as a religion.

"In the first moment, we lost the game, but in the next moment, we won the silver," said Nikola Jokic. "We reached our goal. We came from Serbia, and our goal was a medal, and we won the medal, so that's a big thing for us, a big thing for all these players and coaches."

Although they struggled at times, losing three straight games in the Group Phase, Sasha Djordjevic's team regrouped on time to reach the Quarter-Finals.

The team's perseverance, Jokic admitted, was crucial.

After they knocked out Croatia, the Serbians ended Australia’s Gold Medal Game aspirations in the Semi-Final.

Serbia's three-point defeat to the USA in the Group Phase led to increased expectations for the Gold Medal Game, but the Americans weren't prepared to give in their third straight Olympics title.

With the Olympics silver medal under their belts, Serbia became the No.3 team in the FIBA World Ranking Men.

FIBA