By Peter Toth
This is Serbia again, from Novi Sad through Mitrovica towards the South, we get to Loznica. This a little town, but as all Serbian cities nowadays, Loznica has its own basketball team, too. And, as it has many times been the case before, these local towns may hide treasures. So I can hardly resist from watching the ongoing game. Year 2000 boys are playing against Sabac, team of Lazar Zivanovic whom we have recently introduced, and the locals are winning, unstoppably.
The team has one guy that strikes me. He is Bogdan Nedeljkovic, as I am told, playing at 4, but does very well at other positions too. However, it is rebounding he seems particularly strong at, getting one after the other before the others. He is an athletic guy, well built and tall, but what obviously sets him above the others is his perseverance. He just wants to do it, wants to be better and wants to score. Sometimes it even feels a bit too much, but this determination still seems to help him through the game, ending with 24 pts at the end. Seeing this, I decide to know more about him, so I stay after they win the game, having more than 20 pts ahead of Sabac.
Nedeljkovic is more than willing to speak, he obviously likes being in spotlight, looks down on me brave and confident, when starts introducing himself.
“I am 6’ 8” at the moment, but not for long, I am constantly growing and getting stronger day by day. I started with handball at 8, this is where you can get dynamics and strength, and it was with 10 years that I first tried basketball. I was just the tall guy around, without techniques, strength and the feel of the game, but still thought it would be my life once. In the last five years, however, I improved a lot, growing into my body. I am particularly strong at three-pointers and rebounding, but especially the rebounds where I am unbeatable on the team, though I can do whatever the coach wants me to. Maximum strength and will, this is the key.
Last year I was selected to U15 Serbian National team, playing at Olympic Hopes Tournament in Budapest and I have recently been invited to play in one of the best youth teams in Serbia, Mega Leks in Beograd. I will do exactly the same there as I did here. It is just the challenge, the expectations that are bigger there but they will enhance better performance, helping me develop into a solid national player who can and will do very well on an international level, too.”
So let’s hope to see him there soon….
This is Serbia again, from Novi Sad through Mitrovica towards the South, we get to Loznica. This a little town, but as all Serbian cities nowadays, Loznica has its own basketball team, too. And, as it has many times been the case before, these local towns may hide treasures. So I can hardly resist from watching the ongoing game. Year 2000 boys are playing against Sabac, team of Lazar Zivanovic whom we have recently introduced, and the locals are winning, unstoppably.
The team has one guy that strikes me. He is Bogdan Nedeljkovic, as I am told, playing at 4, but does very well at other positions too. However, it is rebounding he seems particularly strong at, getting one after the other before the others. He is an athletic guy, well built and tall, but what obviously sets him above the others is his perseverance. He just wants to do it, wants to be better and wants to score. Sometimes it even feels a bit too much, but this determination still seems to help him through the game, ending with 24 pts at the end. Seeing this, I decide to know more about him, so I stay after they win the game, having more than 20 pts ahead of Sabac.
Nedeljkovic is more than willing to speak, he obviously likes being in spotlight, looks down on me brave and confident, when starts introducing himself.
“I am 6’ 8” at the moment, but not for long, I am constantly growing and getting stronger day by day. I started with handball at 8, this is where you can get dynamics and strength, and it was with 10 years that I first tried basketball. I was just the tall guy around, without techniques, strength and the feel of the game, but still thought it would be my life once. In the last five years, however, I improved a lot, growing into my body. I am particularly strong at three-pointers and rebounding, but especially the rebounds where I am unbeatable on the team, though I can do whatever the coach wants me to. Maximum strength and will, this is the key.
Last year I was selected to U15 Serbian National team, playing at Olympic Hopes Tournament in Budapest and I have recently been invited to play in one of the best youth teams in Serbia, Mega Leks in Beograd. I will do exactly the same there as I did here. It is just the challenge, the expectations that are bigger there but they will enhance better performance, helping me develop into a solid national player who can and will do very well on an international level, too.”
So let’s hope to see him there soon….
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