Luka Cerovina did not play in the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Championship Game last season, but the multi-faceted forward hopes to take the lessons of watching from the sidelines and guide U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade to an impressive double title at the junior level this year.

Cerovina is a major reason that Mega has chances of hoisting the trophy in Belgrade, especially after he averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in helping Mega to a third-place finish at the ANGT Belgrade tournament. Cerovina’s performance earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. It also gave him confidence heading into the ANGT Finals, which Mega received a wild card to and will play against U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, U18 CFBB Paris and U18 Real Madrid in Group A.

“The ultimate goal is clear, and it is up to us to play at a high quality with strong defense and with concentration in the attack,” said Cerovina.

The 2.01-meter forward also believes the team will get more confidence with the home fans in the stands.

“Playing at home in front of your audience is a special experience and everyone in the club is eagerly awaiting the start of the tournament. For all of us, this represents the highest point in our junior career and we will strive to give our maximum,” he added.

Cerovina will have extra motivation to play a leading role for Mega in Belgrade after receiving a DNP in all four of the club’s games at the 2017 ANGT Finals in Istanbul, including the title game loss against U18 CFBB Paris. That came after he had averaged 1.3 points and 3.7 rebounds at ANGT Belgrade last year.

“I did not get into the [Championship Game], but the experience I got following and cheering for my teammates was very important. We were very close to the goal, but unfortunately we lost to a very high-quality opponent,” he said.

Mega will get another chance against CFBB in Belgrade since they are in the same group.

“We will be motivated from our side to get the win,” Cerovina said of the repeat of the 2017 ANGT Championship Game. He hopes that a victory over CFBB can boost Mega to the 2018 title. It would be a major step in an already superb junior career.

Cerovina was born in Kragujevac and lived with his parents in Zvecan, a small town in Metohija in southwestern Kosovo. He started playing basketball at age 7 after previous playing tennis and football.

“My uncle talked me into it, and since then, this passion for basketball will never stop,” said Cerovina, who played two years of basketball at KK Polet Kraljevo before moving to Mega in 2016.

That same uncle was a professional handball player, playing abroad in Finland, Portugal and Israel. But when it came to role models, Cerovina looked to some of the past Yugoslav basketball greats like Dejan Bodiroga, Toni Kukoc, Predrag Danilovic and Aleksander Djordjevic as well as NBA legends Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Cerovina’s said his current role model though is Alexey Shved from Khimki Moscow Region.

“I am delighted with his game and I think he is maybe the best player in the EuroLeague,” he said. “Next to him, there is, of course, the NBA trio of Milos Teodosic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Jokic.”

The decision to move to Mega was an easy one for Cerovina. “Mega Bemax is a club very well-known not only in our country, but also in the whole world because of its great work with young talents. And a large number of players who have proven themselves in Europe and the NBA have emerged,” Cerovina said.

He praised especially the conditions at the club. “The club organization and top coaching staff contribute to the development of young players and is something I think no other club can provide at this level. So the decision to go to Mega was very fast and easy.”

It has also led to success for Cerovina. While he and the club were unable to win the ANGT last year, the team did win the recent Junior ABA League title, knocking off city rivals Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade in the final in Laktasi in the first edition of the competition.

“I had a noticeable role on the team and I am very proud of that success,” Cerovina said. And he would love to make it a junior double in Belgrade at the ANGT Finals.

“Winning the ANGT title would mean a lot, especially since we recently won the junior ABA league tournament. A double crown would be an incredible feeling and we will do everything we can to achieve this success.”

And those lessons from last season’s ANGT Championship Game will certainly help as well.



Cerovina wants to lead Mega to junior double

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Kilian Binapfl’s performance at the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Munich could probably be considered a breakout of sorts. But the U18 FC Bayern Munich guard was just taking the opportunity to play his game. And he is eager to show what he can do again at the ANGT Finals.

Binapfl was hardly an unknown commodity going into ANGT Munich as he had played for Germany at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016 and was one of the leading players all season for Bayern’s team in the U19 NBBL league. But Binapfl played almost otherworldly in the Munich qualifier, helping Bayern reach the final and being named to the All-Tournament Team after he averaged 19.8 points while shooting 65.3 percent from the floor plus 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.3 blocks.

"It was kind of like a breakout. Nothing really just clicked though. I just played my game and wanted to show what I can do," Binapfl said. "I tried to do a little bit of everything for the team - offensively and defensively, rebounding, defending on the ball, getting offensive rebounds and attacking the basket. Just playing an all-around game."

Part of being able to stand out at such a high-level tournament was a result of experience. Binapfl was appearing in his second ANGT tournament after averaging 2.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals at ANGT Coin last season.

"Coin was one of my first international tournaments. I was a little more shy and not as confident. But I saw that I could play with them," he said. "And that helped me looking forward to this one, where I said to myself 'just play with confidence and show what you can do.'"

Binapfl has been playing basketball since he was 6 years old after seeing a flyer in school in Friedberg, near Augsburg, looking for kids interested in trying the game. It was the first organized sport Binapfl tried and he and his two older brothers were hooked right away.

He ended up playing for TV Augsburg, which is about 15 minutes from his hometown of 30,000 residents. Eventually, he gained interest from bigger clubs such as Bayern, ratiopharm Ulm and Brose Bamberg. One factor in his decision for Bayern, explained Binapfl, was his ability early on to live at home and commute to Munich - about an hour’s drive away.

"But the main factors were the coaches and the professionalism at Bayern," said Binapfl, who joined the club in 2015.

Playing for Bayern is also special for Binapfl, who grew up watching Bayern's world-renowned football team.

"Bayern is the most well-known football team in the world. It’s an honor to play for the team and to live here," he said.

There has also been some interaction with the football giants, especially last season when Bayern’s youth teams practiced at their old gym on Saebener Strasse, which is located close to Bayern football’s headquarters.

"We saw all the players as they passed by," Binapfl said. "They also say hello to younger players like us, and you can see you need to stay humble and not be arrogant. I met Jerome Boateng in the hall and he shook my hand and said hello. I didn’t think that would happen. I thought he wouldn’t even notice me."

The 1.95-meter guard has not had much interaction with Bayern’s professional basketball team, though he was called upon twice to practice with the main team. Binapfl said his biggest basketball challenge was facing Bayern’s star guard Jared Cunningham in those practices. However, he has practiced all season with older players on Bayern's second team, which plays in the third division ProB, even though his main team is the one in the U19 NBBL league.

"Matching up in ProB practice against Amar Gegic and Karim Jallow, I have to play physically. The first time I played against them I really didn’t have a chance. After a while, you develop and see that you can play against them. Everything is faster and tougher and you have to be more concentrated," said Binapfl, who averaged 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.1 steals this season with the NBBL team and has Bayern on the brink of the NBBL Final Four.

But before that, Binapfl has the ANGT Finals in Belgrade, where Bayern will face U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, U18 Divina Seguros Joventut Badalona and U18 Stellazzurra Rome in Group B after receiving a wild card to participate.

"There are no easy teams in the final eight. They are all top teams and it will not be easy to play against any of them. But I think we can do something special if we all play our best and we play as a team. I don’t see us as favorites, but I think we can compete with every team," Binapfl said.

Binapfl is very happy to be just playing at the moment. In early April, he was hit in the head while playing for Germany’s U18 national team at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim. He suffered a concussion, whiplash and a strained neck muscle, which kept him out of practice for more than two weeks. All that is forgotten now and Binapfl is ready for Belgrade.

"I really can’t wait to play in the tournament and face the top eight teams in Europe. It’s something really special. The whole team was really happy about getting the wild card. And now we want to show how good we can play," Binapfl said.



Bayern's Binapfl eager to just play his game in Belgrade

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One of the annual basketball highlights at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four is the opportunity to see the stars of tomorrow at the EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals, which this season will see a new European junior champion crowned. Eight of the world's finest 18-and-under teams arrive in Belgrade to fight for the ANGT title. The group stage of the tourney will be played at the famed Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, however, the championship game will take place at Stark Arena hours before the 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion will be decided on the same floor.

The ANGT Finals is always a high point in what has become the best weekend in basketball, with the 13-game event giving fans an opportunity to see the best and brightest of the next generation of stars. In fact, each of this season's Final Four squads has several ANGT alumni on its roster: Nikita Kurbanov, Alexander Gankevich and Mikhail Kulagin for CSKA Moscow; Luigi Datome, Marko Guduric and Egehan Arna for Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul; Santiago Yusta, Luka Doncic and Dino Radoncic for Real Madrid; and Axel Toupane, Martynas Sajus, Gytis Masiulis, Vasilije Micic, Martynas Arlauskas and Edgaras Ulanovas of Zalgiris Kaunas.

This year marks the 16th anniversary of the event, which debuted in 2003 in Barcelona and attracts more and more attention from the basketball world from year to year. This season's finals features reigning ANGT Finals champ U18 CFBB Paris and four other former champions: ANGT Kaunas winner U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, ANGT Munich victor U18 Real Madrid, ANGT Belgrade titlist U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and ANGT L'Hospitalet champ U18 Divina Seguros Joventut. U18 FC Bayern Munich, U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade - which reached the ANGT title game last season, and U18 Stellazzurra Rome will each look for its first ANGT title in the Serbian capital.

Group A features U18 CBFF Paris, which took the crown in 2010 and 2017; U18 Real Madrid, which lifted the trophy in 2015; 2012 winner U18 Lietuvos Rytas Belgrade and U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade. Group B will be equally competitive with 2013 champion U18 Divina Seguros Joventut, 2014 winner U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, U18 FC Bayern Munich and U18 Stellazzurra Rome.

The group stages of the finals will take place over three days, from Thursday, May 17 through Saturday, May 19, at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, arguably the most famous basketball venue in Belgrade. There is free admission to all games, including the final at Stark Arena, which gives fans without tickets to the Final Four a chance to feel the atmosphere in the arena, too.

The EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT started with 32 different teams dreaming of becoming the junior champs of Europe. Only one of them will be celebrating at the end of the weekend!



ANGT Finals: Europe's rising stars are bound for Belgrade

Usman Garuba made a very loud splash on the international basketball scene in the summer of 2016. But the U18 Real Madrid talent missed both of the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT events last year due to injuries, which made his starring role at February’s ANGT Munich all the more fulfilling. Garuba now has his sights set high heading into the ANGT Finals in Belgrade.

Garuba made his Spanish national team debut at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016 where he was named MVP as Spain went undefeated in winning the title - the country’s first U16 crown since 2013 and fourth in total. Garuba averaged 16.3 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 steals and 2.9 blocks, including a triple-double in the final against Lithuania of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks. The Madrid native did all that despite being only 14 years of age at the time of the tournament. Garuba, born March 9, 2002, became the only player in the history of the U16 continental competition to have won the MVP award as a lower level player… and he was two years younger than the rest of the competition.

His performances left Garuba and observers alike anxiously awaiting last season’s ANGT with Madrid playing in Coin. But Garuba was unable to play in the tournament due to a quadriceps injury. He then missed the ANGT Finals in Istanbul with a knee injury, which eventually required surgery and caused him to miss Spanish youth national team duty last summer as well.

"It was very difficult last year watching because I really wanted to play. But this time I was able to play, and it was great," Garuba said after he made his ANGT debut at ANGT Munich.

Garuba’s introduction to the ANGT was pretty loud; the 2.02-meter center averaged 15.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks for 2015 U18 continental champion Madrid. He shined in the championship game with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks to lead Madrid over U18 FC Bayern Munich. That victory earned Madrid a spot at the ANGT Finals in Belgrade where it will face reigning champion U18 CFBB Paris, 2012 winner U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius and last season’s runner-up U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade.

"It's a great feeling to finally be here. I worked very hard every day for this and I am very thankful for my teammates and my family," said Garuba, who was in the conversation to be MVP of the tournament, an honor that went to teammate Mario Nakic. Garuba, however, did grab a spot on the All-Tournament Team. And did so despite being two years older than the rest of the competition; Garuba was born in 2002 and this year’s ANGT is for the 2000-born generation.

Garuba was born in Madrid to Nigerian parents who have been in Spain for many years. Though his future is basketball, it was not his first love. "I wanted to play football, but I couldn’t because I was too tall," Garuba said.

That led him to grabbing a basketball and hitting the hardwood when he was 11 years old. Even now – five years later – Garuba, of course, is a work in progress. He’s a great rebounder and shot blocker, but knows he has work to do.

"I need to be more concentrated when I don't do the right things and learn to shoot better - both from the outside and the free throw line," said Garuba, who missed his four three-point attempts in the tournament and hit 20 of 29 free throws (69.0%).

Garuba is playing for Real Madrid’s second team in the EBA and averaging 11.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. He also has a younger brother, Ab Sediq Garuba, who is already accomplishing big things in the younger ranks for Madrid.

He is happy to be in the Spanish capital. When asked what makes the U18 Real Madrid team so good, he said: "We work very hard and train a lot. We just want to win."

Madrid has done plenty of winning at the ANGT qualifying tournaments - the victory over Bayern extending the club’s winning streak in qualifiers to 23 games dating back to the 2013 ANGT L’Hospitalet championship game. But Madrid has gone 2-1 in the past two ANGT Finals, twice just missing out on returning to the ANGT Championship Game, which the club won for the first time in 2015.

When asked what Madrid must do to get back to the championship game in Belgrade and take home the title, Garuba said businessman-like: "We have to keep growing as a team and work hard."

Another big factor for Madrid would also be to have a healthy Usman Garuba.



Garuba finally shines for Madrid at ANGT

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Ask Paul Eboua about the challenges he faces nowadays and they are drastically different from the ones the U18 Stellazzurra Rome prospect tackled when he first joined the Italian basketball academy.

Eboua is a tantalizing talent as a 2.03-meter small forward with a wingspan of 2.22 meters. He played a major role in Stellazzurra beating U18 Zalgiris Kaunas at the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Kaunas and reaching the final, where the team lost to U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius. A native of Cameroon, Eboua, who turned 18 years of age in February, averaged 14.8 points and 11.0 rebounds – including 23 points and 15 rebounds in the big win over Zalgiris, the Kaunas team’s first-ever loss in the ANGT Kaunas tournament. That performance helped Stellazzurra gain a wildcard entry to the ANGT Finals in Belgrade, where the Roman side will appear for the second time.

"We are coming for wins. We want to win it. This is not arrogance, but it is what we want," said Eboua, who along with Stellazzurra has been drawn into Group B of the ANGT Finals along with U18 FC Bayern Munich, 2014 continental champion U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and 2013 winner U18 Divina Seguros Joventut Badalona.

Eboua said the Kaunas tournament was a major learning experience for him and the team.

"The most important thing we learned is that to play this kind of game, first of all we must be tough and very athletic. Exceeding our body limit is the only way," he said. "The second thing is that no game is finished until the end. That may seem trivial, but it is the truth. When two of the best teams in Europe are playing, the game can change at any minute, second or action on the court. It’s easy to remember that when you are up by 20 points, but it's more important to remember when you are down 20."

Eboua has been a major attraction for pro scouts as he continues to develop as a high-level prospect. But he also knows there is a lot of work to be done.

"On the court, my biggest challenge is to stay concentrated. I’m working a lot every day with the staff on doing this. I know this is a very important step for me," he said. "Off the court, my challenge is to be a professional player, but also a professional person. I don’t want anything special, but to just be a very good person."

Eboua’s challenges have changed quite a bit since he first arrived in the Italian capital in the summer of 2015. Back then, he left his family, including an older brother and two younger sisters, to come to Europe – without speaking Italian or English. Eboua said he had not even seen an airport before his journey to Italy.

One of his saviors in the early days of his European odyssey was fellow Cameroonian Jordan Philippe Bayehe, who used to play with Stellazzurra.

"Jordan for me is like a real brother. We went to Italy together and he helped me every time when I had difficulties," Eboua said. "I can’t imagine myself here without him."

Eboua talked to Bayehe in Cameroon about what to expect in Italy after his new friend had already been to Stellazzurra on a tryout.

"I was happy and excited, but also a little scared because I understood that I was close to changing my life," Eboua said.

The move to Italy also meant a major change in his commitment to basketball. He had only learned about basketball about a year before coming to Italy and said he was practicing only about five or six times a month. That quickly became two practices a day in Rome.

"I started to finally see real basketball with other teammates, opponents and teamwork," Eboua said.

But the beginning was tough with school a challenge because of his initial struggles in expressing himself in Italian combined with intense practices. "At first I thought I was not going to get there," he admitted.

However, Eboua said he found motivation from his loved ones back in Cameroon: "Whenever I almost gave up, I thought about my family: my parents, my brother and sisters."

Eboua has become an elite prospect with invitations to all the major talent showcases in Europe and the United States. All the while, he continues to change his mindset, developing as not just a talented athlete, but also as a hard-worker and a leader on and off the court. With the strides he has taken recently, the future appears very promising for Eboua.

From Cameroon to Belgrade, Stellazzurra's Eboua emerges as top talent

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The list of greats who have gone through the U18 CFBB Paris system is long and features some of France’s all-time best. Timothe Crusol is honored to currently be part of the institution, but he is hoping to do even bigger things than those who came before him. Over the past two decades, CFBB – which used to be known in competitions as INSEP – has produced stars such as Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Ronny Turiaf, Evan Fournier, Joffrey Lauvergne, Alexis Ajinca, Antoine Diot, Livio Jean-Charles and Leo Westermann.

"Being in INSEP is an honor for me. So many great players were there. At the same time, I tell myself that I must do as good as them or better," Crusol said.

The point guard has already accomplished quite a bit before celebrating his 17th birthday earlier this month. Last year, he had a reserve role with CFBB as it won the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT title in Istanbul. It was CFBB’s second U18 continental championship.

"Going to Istanbul, I took a lot of experience thanks to my teammates. The final was just amazing and the title was awesome," said Crusol, who did not play in CFBB’s 65-58 win over U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade in the ANGT Championship Game.

Last summer, Crusol averaged 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals in helping France win the championship at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017. It was France’s third cadet title alongside wins in 2004 and 2014.

"The European Championship was a great moment because it was the culmination of a whole preparation. We went through a lot as a team and winning the title was great," said Crusol, who will now have a chance to play at this summer’s FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018 in Argentina. The U16 performance also gave Crusol added confidence coming into this season.

"It helped me to be sure of myself at the beginning of the season because I had a good feeling,” he said.

The 1.85-meter playmaker has been playing the game since he was 4 years old - thanks in large part to his father Sebastien Crusol, who played professionally for a few years in France.

"When I was young, I loved to follow my father in the gym, and I never stopped because I love the game," Crusol said. "When I was growing up I liked Kobe Bryant, I liked the way he played. I still watch videos of him. But I also watch videos of Nando De Colo, because when he plays he makes it look easy."

Crusol’s father also played a big role in his development. "He was the person who made me start to love basketball. When I was young he led my training and gave me a lot of advice to improve. But today he just encourages me and he leaves me in the hands of coaches," said Crusol, a native of Saint-Jean-de-Braye in north-central France.

Basketball takes second fiddle to soccer in Crusol’s hometown, which made it clear he would have to move elsewhere to take the next step in his development. And it wasn’t a hard choice for him when deciding to attend INSEP in Paris.

"I believed then and now I know it’s the best framework for the development of a player in France," he said. "We have everything we need on the site. And we have a very good high school. Everything is there to flourish."

Crusol has had plenty of chances to flourish this season for CFBB as most of the stars of last year’s team have moved on, including Ivan Fevrier, Theo Maledon, Yanik Blanc, Sofiane Briki and Joel Ayayi.

"This one season we have learned a lot in the team, and we are taking the experience of the games in the [third division] NM1," Crusol said.

This season saw CFBB actually win a game in the NM1, beating Loudres 71-67 to snap a 58-game losing streak dating back to April 2016 - including the entire 34-game 2016-17 season.

"We were very happy to have finally won a game. This is rare at CFBB,” said Crusol, who collected 14 points and 9 assists in the victory. "It is obviously hard to lose all those games, but everyone learns from their mistakes and we improve."

That win over Loudres came after CFBB picked up two victories at ANGT Kaunas, where the team finished fifth and Crusol averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 0.8 steals. CFBB was awarded a wild card for the ANGT Finals in Belgrade and Crusol and the team cannot wait.

"My teammates and I are so eager to go to Belgrade to show what we are worth," he said.

CFBB has been drawn into Group A with 2012 champion U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade and 2015 title-winner U18 Real Madrid. Crusol believes the game against Mega will be especially interesting since many players from both sides are back after last year’s ANGT Championship Game.

"I think it will be a very interesting game because they will want to take their revenge from last year, and it will be up to us to show even more toughness,” Crusol said.

CFBB is heading to Belgrade with one thought on its mind: becoming the first team to repeat as champion since U18 FMP in 2008 and 2009. "It would be a first for CFBB to win twice in a row, and we would be proud of ourselves and our work," Crusol said.

And it would mean Crusol has accomplished something none of those previous CFBB greats had done before.

Crusol wants to do even better than past CFBB greats

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Representing your country internationally is a major honor for athletes. And for Marek Blazevic, playing for Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius is just as golden an opportunity as wearing the Lithuania jersey.

That is because the Rytas center was born and raised in Vilnius. Blazevic has already done both. After playing for Lithuania at the FIBA U16 European Championship last summer, the big man starred for U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius at the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Kaunas.

"It’s an amazing feeling to be born in Vilnius and play for Rytas. That’s like playing for the Lithuanian national team," said Blazevic, who made the ANGT Kaunas All-Tournament Team after he averaged 12.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

He helped Rytas beat U18 Stellazzurra Rome in the Kaunas final to reach the ANGT Finals for the sixth time. "Those emotions are for the rest of my life," said Blazevic, who picked up 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in the win over Stellazzurra.

Now it’s time for Blazevic and co. to look to add a second U18 continental title to Rytas's trophy-case following the crown in 2012.

"We have to play with the atmosphere of a team and that passion of basketball. Not every time will talent win. You have to want to grab the rebound, to box out your man,” the 17-year-old, who joined Rytas over the summer, said.

That feeling of unity was a major reason Rytas was able to win the ANGT Kaunas, according to Blazevic. "We were a team. We were one fist. Everyone was happy. It’s amazing to play on a team where everyone is happy," he said.

Playing for Lithuania is also a thrill for Blazevic, whose parents were born in Lithuania, but his maternal grandfather was Polish. The 2.07-meter big man speaks Polish; he attended a Polish school in Lithuania. That was his grandmother’s wish since his mother went to a Russian school during the Soviet Union and could not join the Polish school.

Blazevic also started his sports playing with another ball. "It was first grade and everybody said let’s go play football. I was young and wanted to be with my friends," Blazevic remembered. "I was playing football and the basketball coach saw me and asked if I wanted to try basketball. I liked it and here I am now."

Here for Blazevic is still early in his development, but already having made a name in the game. And he is not afraid to work hard on his game - looking to Dario Saric and Anthony Davis as far as basketball role models go.

"I like those types of guys and how they play," Blazevic said. "They play fast. They are not slow big men. They can shoot, they can switch to the four spot. I like that type of game, and I am trying to copy it."

Blazevic would love to copy Saric in another way too. The Croatian star won the ANGT title in 2011 with U18 KK Zagreb. That was the year before Rytas won its only crown, and Blazevic is eager to give his hometown fans another reason to celebrate.



Playing for Rytas like wearing Lithuania jersey to Vilnius native Blazevic

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Every player dreams of making it big in the game and Arturs Zagars is no different. Whenever the young Latvian point guard faces challenges in his quest, all he needs to do is look at the many greats who have played for U18 Divina Seguros Joventut Badalona. Joventut, the 2013 Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT champion, has produced some of Spain’s biggest and brightest talents including Rudy Fernandez, Raul Lopez, Alex Mumbru, Pau Ribas, Ricky Rubio and Guillem Vives.

Zagars feels the club's history just by walking around the facilities in the Barcelona suburbs. "It’s inspirational," the 17-year-old said. "Every day we walk into the arena and their faces are on the walls, and it’s inspirational."

Zagars transitioned that inspiration into performance in putting together an outstanding showing at the ANGT L’Hospitalet. The playmaker averaged 14.0 points, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals at the event, which Joventut won to get back to the ANGT Finals for the first time since 2014.

"The whole season we were preparing for this and it paid off," said Zagars. "This is the best feeling I have ever had in my entire life. We worked so hard, all the sweat and all the blood paid off."

The Riga native is in his first season with Joventut, following an ever-growing trend of Latvians coming to Spain to hone their basketball skills. Other Latvians who moved to the Iberian peninsula early in their career include Kristaps Porzingis, Anzejs Pasecniks, Rolands Smits and the Kurucs brothers, Rodions and Arturs. Zagars, who played with Baskonia prospect Arturs Kurucs at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016, admitted that he really didn’t know much about Joventut when he came to his tryout last year.

"Before I came here I didn’t know anything about this club. I knew that it played in the ACB, but I didn’t know they had a junior system," said Zagars, who played last season with BS DSN Riga in Latvia. "Then I came and I started to get to know the people and get to know the club and I fell in love with it."

Zagars said it was the family atmosphere at Joventut that helped him decide on the club. "It's one big family. The whole staff, all the players are like one big family. Maybe it’s not the richest club, but the coaches and players are like family. They put the maximum into the players and want us to reach our maximum potential. That’s why I came here."

Even with the family feeling, the transition to Spain was a challenge for Zagars, who will turn 18 years of age in late April. "The first couple of months were difficult, adjusting to the language. As time goes by it’s getting better and better. The coaches trust me more. I just need to work," he said.

Zagars's hard work has paid off with the senior team as well; he already made his ACB debut with Joventut. He played seven minutes against Baskonia on March 11 and scored 2 points.

Now that the field is set for the ANGT Finals and Joventut knows which teams it will face, Zagars and co. can start thinking about adding another U18 continental crown to the one from 2013. "Our goal is to compete for the championship. We will work even harder now," he said.

And maybe that hard work will end up with Zagars becoming an inspiration for future youngsters walking around the Joventut facilities.



Zagars inspired by former Joventut greats

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U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade owns one Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT continental crown from back in 2014. But after winning the club's eighth straight ANGT Belgrade title as MVP, Zoran Paunovic is hoping to guide the team back to the top of Europe – especially since the ANGT Finals are going to be played in the Serbian capital at the Final Four in May.

Paunovic collected 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.0 blocks to lead Zvezda to the ANGT Belgrade trophy. Those numbers included his 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a victory over city rival U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade in the championship game.

"I think we deserved to win," said Paunovic, who led the tournament in scoring, performance index rating (33.3), steals and three-point percentage (56%). "We trained so hard. And I'm very happy and proud of my teammates that we won this tournament in such a dominant way."

Those numbers helped him to win the MVP award, which comes after he was named to the all-tournament team last year in Belgrade as well.

"This award means a lot to me," he said. "It's my biggest success until now in my career. I'm really happy because of that. I didn't expect at the beginning of this tournament that I would achieve that. My goal was that my team wins first place and I played that way."

Paunovic is a native of Nis, the third-largest city in Serbia, located in the southeast.

"My first basketball steps were when I was seven years old, in elementary school. I quit several times, but when I was 10 years old I started to practice with KK Konstantin Nis," he recounts.

After four years with Konstantin, the mighty Crvena Zvezda came calling in 2014.

"After that, I was starting to work more seriously and to think about a professional basketball career. For now, I am satisfied with my progress and I do not regret that I came to Zvezda."

The 2.00-meter guard's progress in 2016 earned him a spot on Serbia's U16 national team. He was the country's second-leading scorer at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016 with 14.6 points to go along with 4.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Paunovic and Serbia lost to Finland and Greece in the group stage and were defeated by Montenegro in the Round of 16 to miss out on the medals podium and a possible spot at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2017.

Paunovic has taken a big step forward since last year, when he relied more on his defense to gain his playing time for Zvezda. Paunovic is more responsible for the team now, both on offense and defense, as well as on and off the court as captain.

"It is a big honor to be captain. It is the proof that the coach has a lot of confidence in me," Paunovic said.

"The leader of the team is the player who is the best on offense and defense. He should find a way to score when the team is playing bad. That is my opinion. With the leader's role, I always try to take responsibility in tough situations and to find solutions in important moments."

Zvezda will be making its eighth straight trip to the ANGT Finals. And Paunovic feels the team is good enough to not only reach its fourth ANGT championship game – after going to three straight from 2014 to 2016 – but also to add the 2018 trophy to the previous one from 2014.

"We'll try to win," he said. "I think we have a high-quality team, a team that can win the trophy. We will practice very hard for sure, and we hope that we achieve the best result."

As opposed to the previous seven trips to the ANGT Finals, Zvezda's players will not need to travel very far to the games since they are taking place in Belgrade at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four from May 18 to 20 in the Serbian capital.

"That will be amazing for us," Paunovic said about playing the ANGT Finals at home. "I think that will be an advantage for us."

The talented guard hopes the home fans can carry him and the club back to the top of Europe.

Belgrade MVP Paunovic ready to lead Zvezda in ANGT Finals, too

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