By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Stevan Jelovac has passed away, AEK confirmed on Sunday. He died at the age of 32 after the stroke he had on November 14.
He was hospitalized in serious condition at Μetropolitan General in Athens. His family had since traveled to the Greek capital attending to the health complications of the recent days. A few days prior, the player was transferred to his home, Serbia.
The Serbian player fainted during individual practice. It was later confirmed he had a stroke.
After the ankle injury forcing him to the sidelines the previous two weeks, he had resumed workouts aiming to return to action.
Over the last ten days, AEK officials stood by his family, while all Greek teams supported him with “Get well soon Stevan” banners held by players to start games of the Stoiximan Basket League.
Before joining the AEK, he played in Turkey, Germany, Russia, Spain, Lithuania, Italy, and Japan after opting to extend his career beyond his home country, Serbia. He went from Mega and Crvena Zvezda to Antalya, Caserta, Rytas, Zaragoza, Nizhny Novgorod, Brose Bamberg, and Gaziantep, and from Europe to Japan and NeoPhoenix.
His career featured 13 appearances in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, 41 in the 7DAYS EuroCup, 28 in the Basketball Champions League, and 16 in the FIBA Europe Cup. He was also capped at the senior level with Serbia during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
As a member of AEK, Jelovac averaged 12.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 0.7 steals per game over seven games played between the BCL and Greek League.
The tragic news of his death caused a plethora of reactions in the basketball world, among teams, teammates and other players…