Many basketball players say they remember losses much more than victories. Nikola Saranovic is no different, and he hopes playing at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals can help him overcome a past ANGT defeat that still hurts.
U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade was long a force at the ANGT Belgrade, having won eight straight events in the Serbian capital until 2019. That season Zvezda lost to city rival U18 Mega Belgrade in the ANGT Belgrade first-place game.
Zvezda was ready to get back to the ANGT Belgrade deciding game in 2020. Everything was in place as Zvezda was leading the other city rival, U18 Partizan Belgrade, by 13 points with less than 3 minutes to play in the final group stage game. Down the stretch, Saranovic missed a shot, made 2 fouls and then committed a turnover with 9 seconds left and his team up by one point. Partizan’s Lazar Stefanovic would score on a layup with 1 second left for the comeback victory. Saranovic called that loss the biggest disappointment in his young career.
"I have trained and worked hard so that it won't happen again," said Saranovic, who had 3 points and 2 rebounds in that game and finished with 4.5 points and 4.0 rebounds at the 2020 ANGT Belgrade.
The 2.01-meter guard stepped up his play at the 2021 ANGT Belgrade and collected 8 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists against Partizan to get Zvezda back to the first-place game. Zvezda could not get the job done against Mega though in an 80-82 loss after blowing a 19-point lead to finish second.
Still, getting his team one stage further was an accomplishment for Saranovic, who averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 points, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals for an index rating of 24.3.
"I learned how to be calmer and how to lead my team in tough situations," said Saranovic, who earned a spot on the ANGT Belgrade all-tournament team with his performance.
Saranovic continues to make big strides with Zvezda. About six weeks before the 2021 ANGT Belgrade, senior team head coach Dejan Radonjic invited the guard to join his roster for the Radivoje Korac Cup. Saranovic did not end up playing in the tournament, but the exposure to the professionals helped him.
"I learned that they play much better and stronger basketball than us juniors," said Saranovic, who starting playing basketball in first grade. "My biggest achievement is being a part of the senior team at such young age - to be able to learn from such great players."
Saranovic clearly has shown he can excel at his age group. One of the other highlights this season came on December 20, 2020, as he registered a triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and 14 steals and was close to a quadruple-double with 7 assists as well against Smederevo in the U19 league.
"That day I was feeling very motivated, and I think that there was a little bit of luck involved. But I couldn’t have done it without the help of my teammates," said Saranovic, who averaged 11.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.2 steals in the U19 season.
Saranovic and Zvezda have another highlight coming after the club received a wild card for the ANGT Finals in Valencia, Spain, on June 3-6. They have a chance about which he is very excited.
"I am feeling extra motivated to win and maybe bring one more trophy to Belgrade," he said. "We need to play as a team, to play extra hard defense, run good in transition, play smart offense and show other teams that we are able to win this tournament... I think that it would mean a lot to everybody who supports Crvena Zvezda to see us win this tournament."
Zvezda claimed the 2014 ANGT title and then went to back-to-back ANGT Championship Games in 2015 and 2016 - losing both times. Another triumph this season would make it easier for Nikola Saranovic to forget that painful loss from last season.