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Fiba World Championships of Basketball:
Round of 16: August 26, 20:00 local time
Teams: Spain (5-0) vs. Serbia & Montenegro (2-3)
Round of 16: August 26, 20:00 local time
Teams: Spain (5-0) vs. Serbia & Montenegro (2-3)
Spain vs Serbia & Montenegro from Fiba.com (link)
SAITAMA (FIBA World Championship) - Serbia & Montenegro will have a tough task of defending their title if their recent history against Spain is anything to go by.
Pepu Hernandez's men have beaten the defending champions in the past four international and continental competitions, with the most recent win coming in the group stages of last year's Eurobasket.
But Pau Gasol won't be underestimating a side which has gone from strength to strength in the group stages, despite their lack of experience in international competitions.
"They are the defending champions but not the same team they were four years ago. However they are a much tougher team than we expected to play after finishing first in our group," he said.
And the Spanish center was keen to stress that the recent record against Dragan Sakota's side didn't mean anything at this stage of the tournament.
"We have been very successful against them but it doesn't matter. From now on we just have to win every game and they're all going to be tough."
Igor Radocevic - Serbia & Montenegro's sole player left from the team that triumphed in Indianapolis in 2002 - is confident the Eastern European nation can carry over some momentum from their encouraging performances in the group stages which included a four-point loss to Olympic champions Argentina.
"This is a very young team which has really improved over the last five games and is short of just two or three players to be among the best teams in Europe or the world."
And Dragan Sakota's men will be short of a key player as forward Ognjen Askrabic is sure to miss out because of an ankle injury sustained against Argentina.
Swingman Branko Jorovic - who played sparingly against Argentina - will be included in the team despite being described as only "30 per cent fit" by Rakocevic.
Overall, Serbia & Montenegro lead the series against Spain, having won 22 of 29 games, but they have not beaten them in a competitive situation in four years and lost two friendlies to Hernandez's men in their preparation for the tournament.
"This will be a very tough game for us because Spain are a great team. It's not just Gasol and (Juan Carlos) Navarro. They have great quality with Jorge Garbajosa, Jose Manuel Calderon and on the bench too."
SAITAMA (FIBA World Championship) - Serbia & Montenegro will have a tough task of defending their title if their recent history against Spain is anything to go by.
Pepu Hernandez's men have beaten the defending champions in the past four international and continental competitions, with the most recent win coming in the group stages of last year's Eurobasket.
But Pau Gasol won't be underestimating a side which has gone from strength to strength in the group stages, despite their lack of experience in international competitions.
"They are the defending champions but not the same team they were four years ago. However they are a much tougher team than we expected to play after finishing first in our group," he said.
And the Spanish center was keen to stress that the recent record against Dragan Sakota's side didn't mean anything at this stage of the tournament.
"We have been very successful against them but it doesn't matter. From now on we just have to win every game and they're all going to be tough."
Igor Radocevic - Serbia & Montenegro's sole player left from the team that triumphed in Indianapolis in 2002 - is confident the Eastern European nation can carry over some momentum from their encouraging performances in the group stages which included a four-point loss to Olympic champions Argentina.
"This is a very young team which has really improved over the last five games and is short of just two or three players to be among the best teams in Europe or the world."
And Dragan Sakota's men will be short of a key player as forward Ognjen Askrabic is sure to miss out because of an ankle injury sustained against Argentina.
Swingman Branko Jorovic - who played sparingly against Argentina - will be included in the team despite being described as only "30 per cent fit" by Rakocevic.
Overall, Serbia & Montenegro lead the series against Spain, having won 22 of 29 games, but they have not beaten them in a competitive situation in four years and lost two friendlies to Hernandez's men in their preparation for the tournament.
"This will be a very tough game for us because Spain are a great team. It's not just Gasol and (Juan Carlos) Navarro. They have great quality with Jorge Garbajosa, Jose Manuel Calderon and on the bench too."
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