Slavnic's glorious performance against Italians
The Americans have, for four years, eagerly awaited the return game with the USSR at the basketball tournament in Montreal, after the defeat in the controversial final match at the Olympics in Munich in 1972.
However, the return game never took place, thanks to the Yugoslav national team, which, in the semi-finals, after an uncertain and difficult struggle - even though they led by 19-4 in the first half - defeated the Soviet national team by 89-84.
Nevertheless, the crucial match at the Olympics, the Yugoslav team played earlier on in the B group against Italy. After the first half, the semi-finals were almost unreachable for the Yugoslavs, since the Italians were leading by 15 points.
In the second half, they switched roles - the Yugoslavs started to play fantastically and gradually decreased the lead of the confused opponents. Zoran "Moka" Slavnic took over the leading position and in this best game of his career he practically single-handedly defeated the self-confident Italians. Slavnic made flawless passes and hits, and with the scores in the last seconds of this match, he ensured the victory to his team - 88-87.
Yugoslavia won a silver medal, since it was defeated in the finals by the US - 74-95.
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