By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Cologne, Germany – “Shutting down”
There was a lot of that happening at the EuroBasket game of Bosnia Herzegovina against Slovenia for Round 3 of the EuroBasket.
Bosnia shut down the reigning champion, the team that features Euro Ball behemoths Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic, the squad that came to Cologne with a gold medal to defend and was undefeated for 11 straight matches in the competition. Until tonight.
The Bosnia side also probably shut down those who may have considered them goners and doomed to elimination even before the EuroBasket began, those who likely thought that there was no way they can survive the Group B onslaught. Honestly, it wasn’t that crazy to believe that when the other Group B teams are Slovenia, France, Lithuania and host Germany, apart from Hungary.
“We are talking about in the locker room. Everybody is like this, saying… “this Group has Germany, France, Slovenia these two teams are nothing special… and that fuels us,” Bosnia wing Dzanan Musa said.
“You are in the EuroBasket where everything is possible,’ Musa added. “‘Bring The Noise.’ When you beat one of the best teams in the world you get some confidence and you also get some respect from the other teams. Nobody sees Bosnia anymore and says ‘Aaah, Bosnia… these guys.’ They see these guys that beat some of the top teams in the world two times in 10 days,” Musa mentioned, referring to the win of Bosnia over France for the World Cup Qualifiers.
Musa, the bright star of the Bosnian national team, also made some…. “shutting down.” He scored 22 points on 7-13 shots, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out five assists against a squad with one of the top players in the world, the 2017 EuroBasket MVP, the new center of Barcelona (Mike Tobey), NBAer Vlatko Cancar and some other battle-hardened veterans.
“Everyone doubted me,” Musa said. “There was a time… And it was hard for me to find the way. Rio Breogan helped me get back my confidence and now Real Madrid has trusted me.” The 23-year-old player
It’s very nice to shut down the doubters but it’s important for us to stay healthy as a team,” Musa added.
Actually, Musa began “shutting down” doubters way earlier in the EuroBasket. So far he has been averaging 23.7 points on some pretty efficient shooting (61.9 percent on field goals), 5.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds as Bosnia has two wins in three games.
It’s more than numbers for Musa, who signed a contract with Real Madrid earlier in the summer after winning MVP in Spain with Rio Breogan.
Musa’s showing a couple of strong glimpses that at 23 years of age, he’s been maturing into a kind of a leader. The type of player who’s not only about raining buckets (something that he’s notoriously good at) and relying on his huge scoring instinct and talent but also makes the correct decisions and calls, especially during crunch time. Make a right extra pass, don’t force things or do something hastily, look for the hot teammate, and give him the ball.
“I’m not looking at the individual stats, Musa said. “I’m just happy to help the team win. That’s most important.”
Musa tipped his hats off to Doncic who enjoyed facing him since the two knows each other. “Huge respect for him,” Musa said. “He’s my friend and he’s one of the best players in the world. It’s always too much fun to play against your friends, especially at that level. ”
Everyone on the Bosnian team will now look to build on that victory to – why not – secure that spot in the knockout phase. It will be a major and inspiring achievement.
“Just to show to our country that everything is possible,” Musa said. “We are always one step away from something big. They are always one step from something but I think now we’ll take that step.