By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
One of Serbia’s heroes in Manila during the FIBA World Cup was without a doubt Aleksa Avramovic. Partizan’s points guard transformed team Serbia into a silver medal winner with his tenacious defense.
“We had a great group of guys. I would start with my teammates and then through the coach, the entire coaching staff. We all functioned perfectly as we completed the tasks that were asked of us. Everyone knew their role. Bogdan was the captain, and he carried the biggest burden on his back, Milutinov played a fantastic tournament and I say, not everyone came, but we are still a team. It was also seen after the championship. We had a joint dinner, a celebration. We invited everyone and everyone came because this is really a success for all of us. Both of us who were there and the players who could not be with us for various reasons, we again showed unity and now we can’t wait for the Olympic Games“, said Avramovic in an interview with Mozzart Sport,
As the conversation progresses, it seems that Aleksa would immediately head for Paris.
“I already think about the Olympic Games in Paris every day. I can’t stop thinking and I will continue to think. As for me, drop the ball now, let’s go. We will go out in Paris with a strong line-up, whatever it is. After all, it doesn’t even matter. Certainly, our goals will be the same. We are attacking the medal!“.
He continued in the same tone.
“God willing that we be healthy and get together. A year of experience means a lot when you know the habits of teammates and coaches. It will be easier for everyone.”
The internet World Cup stopped for a moment for Borisa Simanic, Serbia’s forward who lost his kidney after being hit in a game against South Sudan.
“A really harmless situation at first. Professor Gaga Radovanović explained to me how rare this case is. If that situation happened again now, it probably wouldn’t end with such an injury. And really, we already talked about it. He is a true hero. Borisa is someone who really united us and brought us together. And in the most difficult and critical moment for him, he managed to send us a message, while he was fighting for his life, and he remembered that we were playing in the quarterfinals… Now, I shudder when I think about it. That gave us the biggest motivation to run out onto the floor“.
It was a nightmare for Serbia in those moments.
“Borisha was immediately hospitalized. We didn’t know how critical it was and how dangerous it was. We knew that Bora would have an operation after that examination. We didn’t know what was going to be done. Only at one point at four in the morning, did they send us a message that they needed blood. Because I guess he lost over two liters of blood. And it has that rare blood type that no one else has. Except for Bogdan Bodganovic’s mother. And there is an indication of some of our unity. And that was before the match with Italy. And we didn’t sleep at all.”
The match with Canada and a head-to-head battle with NBA All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was something special. Bogdan Bogdanovićcrevealed that Aleksa had been studying the Oklahoma player’s moves for days.
“It’s not like that, I analyze every player, every opponent. I watched him, I watched Jokubaitis, Schroder… Before that, the Italians, and the Dominicans. It was all the same way of preparing for the next game. There is nothing spectacular or new about it. I think every player analyzes his opponent, it’s a normal part of scouting. I just did my part in preparation like every player in the team did.”
Serbia lost in the finals against Germany and Avramovic explains why Germany fully deserved to be champions: “We watched them and we knew that they are the best team in the championship because they have been together for a long time, they work great. They have a leader in Schroder, they are full of NBA talent who play in the national team together every year and this is the crowning glory of their career, but we could have messed with their strings. They were simply more physically fit, especially since we were without two very important players – Ognjen Dobrić and Nikola Milutinov, who were injured. We could not match their strength. They deservedly won, and I congratulate them on that.”