Right after winning the 1978 world title, Nikolić stepped down and his assistant Skansi got the head coaching job ahead of the EuroBasket in Italy. Losing their last round-robin group game 77-76 versus Miki Berkovich-led Israel meant Yugoslavia failed to progress to the tournament's final game. However, the team recovered to win its third-place game versus Czechoslovakia, which provided a bit of a reprieve though the tournament overall was still seen as a disappointment after years of winning, including three consecutive EuroBasket titles.