By Dr. Peter Toth
Celebration, celebration, celebration, this is how the Bosnian U16 team can best be described after their glorious triumph at the finals of the European Championship in Kaunas this weekend. Despite their two losses, one against Finland and another versus Montenegro, their progress was unstoppable. After a hard and nerve-cracking game against Lithuania, they finally triumphed. It was not only the cup they won, but also the MVP title, taken by Dzanan Musa, the best scorer and assister of the whole tournament. The Bosnian team is tall and strong, but most importantly, desperate and enthusiastic, all heart and soul when I find them at the airport in Kaunas waiting for their plane.
- “What is the winning feature of the Bosnian team that made then champions this year?” – I ask the point guard, Sani Campara, whose excellent hand made him one of the best three-pointers of the competition.
- “The main strength of our team is our teamwork. We were always there for each other and that is the main reason of our success. From the very first day we knew we can beat anyone and we never doubted this. Although we lost 2 games, we recovered very fast and managed to make our people from BIH proud of us.”
- “It is the fight, the desire to win and the big, big heart what makes us unbeatable” – interrupts their huge center, the youngster Semin Burko.
- “You have several players playing outside Bosnia, do you think this international experience has contributed to your enormous success”?
- “Of course, it is important that we all play in strong teams and we all had very hard games this season, so we got used to this tempo of games. We are a mixture of international experience and the best Bosnian traditions. We had fifty days to prepare this amalgam and managed to get along well and to become a great team at the end.”
- “What do you think was the most difficult part of the tournament?”
- “It was when we lost two games in a row against Finland and Montenegro and we were all struck down, but we remained strong and managed to get back in the form. But it was only possible to get along together as a team. After we won EYOF and we defeated teams like Serbia and Italy, we thought we could easily win against a team like Finland, but we were mistaken. We were not in the game properly and that cost us a loss, but in the end it was beneficial, we took every game seriously afterwards and played as hard as we could.”
- “When did you start believing you can really make it to the title?”
- “When we first met before the tournament, we all sat together and said we could go all the way, because we knew we had a great team and we prepared hard enough for this. Now we are happy that we showed Europe that we are number one. We worked really hard, without hardships and efforts their is no success, but we are proud and happy to represent our country and people.”
And they are right, the response does not await too long, 50000 people are waiting for the champions in Sarajevo. There are parties and festivals all around the streets of the capital. Had this title been earned in another country, people may not have even been aware of the tournament, but Bosnia is different, and the support and enthusiasm of the people, together with that of the boys, has indeed made a miracle this time.
Celebration, celebration, celebration, this is how the Bosnian U16 team can best be described after their glorious triumph at the finals of the European Championship in Kaunas this weekend. Despite their two losses, one against Finland and another versus Montenegro, their progress was unstoppable. After a hard and nerve-cracking game against Lithuania, they finally triumphed. It was not only the cup they won, but also the MVP title, taken by Dzanan Musa, the best scorer and assister of the whole tournament. The Bosnian team is tall and strong, but most importantly, desperate and enthusiastic, all heart and soul when I find them at the airport in Kaunas waiting for their plane.
- “What is the winning feature of the Bosnian team that made then champions this year?” – I ask the point guard, Sani Campara, whose excellent hand made him one of the best three-pointers of the competition.
- “The main strength of our team is our teamwork. We were always there for each other and that is the main reason of our success. From the very first day we knew we can beat anyone and we never doubted this. Although we lost 2 games, we recovered very fast and managed to make our people from BIH proud of us.”
- “It is the fight, the desire to win and the big, big heart what makes us unbeatable” – interrupts their huge center, the youngster Semin Burko.
- “You have several players playing outside Bosnia, do you think this international experience has contributed to your enormous success”?
- “Of course, it is important that we all play in strong teams and we all had very hard games this season, so we got used to this tempo of games. We are a mixture of international experience and the best Bosnian traditions. We had fifty days to prepare this amalgam and managed to get along well and to become a great team at the end.”
- “What do you think was the most difficult part of the tournament?”
- “It was when we lost two games in a row against Finland and Montenegro and we were all struck down, but we remained strong and managed to get back in the form. But it was only possible to get along together as a team. After we won EYOF and we defeated teams like Serbia and Italy, we thought we could easily win against a team like Finland, but we were mistaken. We were not in the game properly and that cost us a loss, but in the end it was beneficial, we took every game seriously afterwards and played as hard as we could.”
- “When did you start believing you can really make it to the title?”
- “When we first met before the tournament, we all sat together and said we could go all the way, because we knew we had a great team and we prepared hard enough for this. Now we are happy that we showed Europe that we are number one. We worked really hard, without hardships and efforts their is no success, but we are proud and happy to represent our country and people.”
And they are right, the response does not await too long, 50000 people are waiting for the champions in Sarajevo. There are parties and festivals all around the streets of the capital. Had this title been earned in another country, people may not have even been aware of the tournament, but Bosnia is different, and the support and enthusiasm of the people, together with that of the boys, has indeed made a miracle this time.
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