Berlin, Germany, January 6, 2020 - Serbia celebrated victory in Berlin to gain their first points in Pool B against the Netherlands. Serbian captain Nemanja Petric topped the scoring with 15 points and an average of 79 per cent successful attacks. Serbia now have three points after two matches while the Netherlands have to win their next games to stay in the run for the semis.
Serbia coach Slobodan Kovac was satisfied with how his team regrouped after dropping their first match against France and raised their energy levels to play the Dutch. “We played really good and stopped Nimir Abdel-Aziz. This was the key to success against the Netherlands. He is a really good player and has a great service. We played with a lot more energy compared to yesterday. So I am very satisfied with our first victory here. It is good to have a free day tomorrow. We will have a little rest to get ready for Bulgaria.”
Top scorer and Serbia captain Nemanja Petric also pointed to his team's positive attitude and looked ahead to his team's encounter with Bulgaria on Wednesday. “We made a great start today and were really aggressive on the service. All players had a great concentration and focus on the field. It is great to have a free day tomorrow because it is Christmas in Serbia. Of course we will need it to prepare for Bulgaria. This is an important game for us; they are a great team with a lot of strong players.”
It was a disappointing result for Netherlands coach Roberto Piazza, however. And one that was difficult to explain. “We lost the game quickly,” he said. “I have no explanation for our performance at the moment. It´s my responsibility because we talked a lot about the Serbian team before, but maybe I put too much information in the hands of the guys. I think I have them confused a little bit.”
Netherlands captain Nimir Abdel-Aziz added: “It was really a bad game from us and Serbia played well. That´s it. You don´t have a chance against teams like Serbia when you play this way.”