Croatia was one of the pleasant surprises in Olympic play this summer. With a 3-2 record in the preliminary round and young NBA talent on the roster, Croatia was expected to make some noise in the tournament. That was not the case, however.
The Croatians lost a nail-biter to Serbia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The game ended in an 86-83 victory for the rival Serbians. The decisive moment in the game was the third quarter which Serbia won by an astounding 20 points.
The Croatians seem to have taken this loss hard. Whether due to their expectations for the Olympics or the fact that they lost to their rivals, the loss was an excruciating one.
No one took the loss harder than Dario Saric, however. The soon-to-be Sixers rookie was one of the stars for Croatia in the Olympics but had a tough game against Serbia. He minced no words about his performance after the game (via Eurohoops.net):
“I don’t know what to say. We have lost to Serbia again. And I have played like the biggest p–y.
“I didn’t start the game well and when I realized I couldn’t get it going on offense, I tried to help the team by playing good defense. I think I wasn’t at my best during whole tournament”
Saric scored only seven points and grabbed four rebounds during the loss.
While a disappointing loss for Croatia, they should feel satisfied with their Olympics performance. Dario Saric and Bojan Bogdanovic, the two stars of the team, are still young. There will be incoming talent, including Lakers rookie Ivica Zubac.
Croatia will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years and Saric will be a big part of that.
