Aleksej Pokusevski just played at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament for the second season in a row, but this time at ANGT Belgrade was a lot more special for the U18 Olympiacos Piraeus talent than last year's showing in Munich. Not only did the 2.11-meter guard earn a spot on the tournament Best 5 team, but Pokusevski relished playing back home in Serbia.

Pokusevski led the tournament both with 3.5 blocks per game and in three-point shooting percentage at 52.6%. He ranked second with 2.3 steals and fourth in performance index rating at 22 in addition to 15.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Pokusevski's efforts played a big role in the Reds finishing with a 3-1 record and in third place overall.

"It's a big tournament and a big experience for the whole team," said Pokusevski, who averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks last season at ANGT Munich. He said he learned a lot from last year's tournament in Germany that helped him become one of Olympiacos's leaders.

"I was the youngest on the team last year and I was learning from the other players, so it helped me. Those were tough games and they helped me learn to stay confident and play for the team," he explained. "I want to help other players get better. I am trying to be the best player on the team and to win every game."

Olympiacos may have been one of the road teams in Belgrade, but there was definitely a large welcoming committee for Pokusevski.

"There are 20 family and friends here. It's really nice to play in front of them," said Pokusevski, who was born in Belgrade in 2001. "I was very excited to see that we would be playing in Belgrade because I knew that everyone would be really excited to be able to see me play."

Pokusevski's family fled the war in Kosovo in 1999, going from Pristina first to Podgorica, Montenegro, which is where Pokusevski's older brother Onjegin was born in 1999. They moved to Belgrade in 2001, where Aleksej was born and about a year later they moved to Novi Sad in northern Serbia.

It was in Novi Sad where Pokusevski started his basketball playing at age 6. Pokusevski's father, who was a coach at smaller clubs in Serbia, would take video clips of all of Aleksej's games. And those YouTube clips ended up bringing Pokusevski to Greece.

"Some coach from Olympiacos saw them and called my father," Aleksej recalled.

He was only 13 years old when he moved to Athens. Pokusevski said initially he didn't realize what it meant to be going to Olympiacos. "It is a club with a big history, but I was young and I didn't know that. I was like okay, I will go there and play there and do what I do best," Pokusevski said.

His mother accompanied him for the first two weeks and then Pokusevski was alone for about two months before his father and then brother came. Now, the whole family is with Pokusevski in Greece.

"It was tough. I was alone in a new country, a new city, a new language and culture. It was tough to be there and play basketball with any concentration," Pokusevski said about his first season in 2016-17. "After a year, I knew that there was a pressure and that it was a big team and you have to do your best to win."

One of the people who made Pokusevski's transition easier was Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov, who has been with the club since 2015 and hails from Novi Sad.

"When I was young, he was practicing on the same court with me. Now after about 10 years or so we are together. He's helping me to read the game and see the game in other ways," Pokusevski said of the 24-year-old Milutinov.

Pokusevski worked out about twice a week with Olympiacos's senior team last season. This year he is practicing solely with Coach David Blatt's senior squad. He has not played in any regulation games, but did appear in some friendlies. The youngster has been all eyes and ears trying to learn from some of the club's legendary leaders.

"Playing alongside Vassilis Spanoulis and Georgios Printezis, they are unbelievable. The concentration of Spanoulis is unbelievable. Every single practice he is 100 percent focused," Pokusevski said.

Kostas Papanikolaou is another great example for Pokusevski, who said about the two-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion: "I learn from his energy and defense."

Pokusevski said he is working his hardest to get into a game for the Reds: "I am just trying my best in practices and trying to play smart and not make any turnovers, play good defense and help the team so that coach will believe in me and put me in a game,” Pokusevski said. "It's going be a great experience. To play for Olympiacos in any game… to play with Spanoulis, Printezis and Milutinov will be amazing."

Another memorable moment came for Pokusevski in his first game at this event. Pokusevski made his debut with the Serbian national team last summer at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018, where he averaged 7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 3.0 blocks.

Olympiacos's ANGT Belgrade opener was against U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and proved to be a reunion for Pokusevski with several of his teammates from that Serbian U17 team in Argentina - Stevan Karapandzic, Marko Pavicevic, Nemanja Popovic, Lazar Vasic and Lazar Zivanovic. That made ANGT Belgrade even more special for Pokusevski.



Olympiacos talent Pokusevski relishes in return home

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Aleksandar Langovic was chosen MVP of the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade after leading U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade to first place. Langovic posted 18 points and 11 rebounds in racking up a performance index rating of 30 in Mega’s 63-73 win over U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade in the first place game. He averaged 13.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists for an index rating of 18.3 over four games at the tournament. Langovic finished third at the event in rebounding. Joining Langovic in the tournament's Best 5 were Nemanja Popovic from Zvezda, Davide Casarin of U18 Umana Reyer Venice, Aleksej Pokusevski from U18 Olympiacos Piraeus and Djordje Topolovic of U18 Spars Sarajevo.

Popovic collected 13.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 blocks over the weekend. He ranked third in blocks seventh in index rating. The 2003-born Casarin averaged 18.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.0 blocks. He was the tournament’s fifth-leading scorer, third in assists and tied for second in steals. Pokusevski tallied 15.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 3.5 blocks. He ranked second in steals, first in blocks, first in three-point percentage (52.6%) and fourth in index rating. Topolovic averaged 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists with an index rating of 24.5. The big man was fourth in scoring and first in index rating.

Mega Bemax forward Langovic named ANGT Belgrade MVP

U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade will be aiming to win its ninth straight Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade and make another trip to the ANGT Finals. The 2014 continental champion hopes to extend its ANGT Belgrade winning streak to 39 games and book a ticket to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in May in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Among the teams shooting to dethrone Zvezda in the games in the Serbian capital from February 22-24 are U18 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, which reached the ANGT Championship Game in 2012, and U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade, the runner-up at the ANGT Finals in 2017. The other teams are U18 Cedevita Zagreb, U18 Olympiacos Piraeus, U18 Petrol Olimpija Ljubljana, U18 Spars Sarajevo and U18 Umana Reyer Venice. The eight teams are split into two groups that will play round-robin style with the top-placed teams in each group facing off in the first-place game for a spot in the ANGT Finals along with ANGT Valencia winner U18 Valencia Basket, ANGT Munich champ U18 Real Madrid and ANGT Kaunas winner U18 Zalgiris Kaunas. The two teams that finish second in the groups will play in the third-place game, the third-placed teams from the groups will square off in the fifth-place game and the two fourth-placed teams will play in the seventh-place game.

Group A includes Cedevita, Olympiacos, Venice and Zvezda. Croatia's Cedevita returns to the competition after not playing last season, snapping a streak of seven straight years dating back to the 2010-11 campaign. Its most recent appearance was in 2017 at ANGT L’Hospitalet where it finished fifth. Greek giant Olympiacos made its return to the competition last season, finishing fourth at ANGT Munich in its first appearance since 2007. Italy's Venice is back for the fourth time; it placed sixth at ANGT Belgrade last season after playing at ANGT Rome in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Those three teams will be shooting to knock off Zvezda. Its last defeat came at the hands of U18 Beovuk 72 in the 2010-11 season.

Group B includes Fenerbahce, Mega. Olimpija and Spars. Fenerbahce, which lost to U18 Rytas Vilnius in the ANGT Championship Game in 2012, is playing in the competition for the ninth straight season. Its last four campaigns were at ANGT Kaunas. Last year the Turkish powerhouse finished eighth. Mega is two seasons removed from playing in the ANGT Championship Game and losing to U18 CFBB Paris. The Serbian club finished third last season after appearing in the ANGT Belgrade first-place game the previous campaign. This will be Mega's seventh appearance in the competition. Slovenian side Olimpija makes its return to the event after missing last season and will be playing a 12th time. It last played at ANGT L'Hospitalet in 2016-17 and finished seventh. It is now seven straight appearances for Bosnia and Herzegovina's Spars, which has played in Belgrade the last three seasons. It finished seventh last year and played in the first-place game in 2015-16.



Crvena Zvezda goes for 9th straight ANGT Belgrade win

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Not many players get the chance to face their father in a professional basketball game. But Kerr Kriisa still remembers his father Valmo Kriisa nailing a three-pointer in his face and that has motivated him to become a better player – a player who took home the MVP award in helping U18 Zalgiris Kaunas win the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Kaunas.

Kriisa collected 27 points with 4 three-pointers to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for a performance index rating of 32 in Zalgiris's 92-79 win in the first-place game against rival and last season's ANGT champion, U18 Rytas Vilnius. For the tournament, Kriisa averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.0 steals for a performance index rating of 23.0 while ranking third in the competition in scoring, second in assists, first in free throw percentage (88.9%) and second in PIR.

"This is my first time playing in this tournament so I really didn't know what to expect. After the first game, I realized it's really just a normal type of game. The names are strong, but really it's just a basketball game. Game after game I started to feel more comfortable and I am really satisfied that we won this tournament," said Kriisa, who hails from Estonia. "We're very happy that we won. Before the tournament, we really weren't expecting to win this. But we kept believing in ourselves. The win is really big, especially against Rytas."

Zalgiris reclaimed its status as ANGT Kaunas winner after finishing third last season - with Rytas winning the event. Now Zalgiris is headed back to the ANGT Finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. Kriisa said the current 2001-born generation now has bragging rights over last season's group.

"We all wanted to get there. Last year there were 2000-born guys, so now it's good to tell them that they didn't get [to the ANGT Finals], but we did," Kriisa said.

Kriisa is spending his first season in Kaunas after a difficult 2017-18 season that saw him move from Estonia to the Brose Bamberg system in Germany. But he really didn't play at all because he was dealing with injuries all season.

"It was my worst year ever. I had shin splints. I had to come back to Estonia. Last year was the worst year of my life," he said.

That proved to be an end to an eventful 2017 calendar year. In August, he helped Estonia remain in Division A at the FIBA U16 European Championship by finishing in in 12th place.

On February 24, 2017, Kriisa got into an Estonian Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML) game for Tartu Ulikool against BC Valga-Valka/Maks & Mooritsa. The game was special because Valga's team included Valmo Kriisa, a 42-year-old role player at the end of his 24-year career during which he played in Sweden, Netherlands and Latvia. Tartu won 85-69 and Kerr Kriisa collected 2 points, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 rebound in his fifth game. His father tallied 4 points, four assists, 1 rebound and a steal - not to mention a big shot with Kerr guarding him.

"I remember he missed all his shots and then when I was guarding him he made a three-pointer right in my face. That's basically all I can remember and that still really hurts," Kerr admitted.

Kriisa said he learned a lot of things from his father – one being to never stand still. "You always have to keep moving: after practice, you stretch, then you eat. You just can't sit and watch TV. This really influences your future life and how long you can play."

Valmo Kriisa knows plenty about that; he played for the Estonian national team from 1995 to 2011 and retired in 2017 after 24 years of play.

"He has a hotel business, but he's missing basketball. He's thinking about returning soon … we'll see," Kriisa said.

Kerr Kriisa seems to have reached a point where he would not face his father again in a professional game should Valmo Kriisa actually return to the game. But the elder Kriisa has already left a distinguished mark on his son – one that has turned him into a leader for Zalgiris's youth teams. And one that will make him a big part of Zalgiris's chances at the ANGT Finals in May in Spain.

ANGT Kaunas MVP Kriisa learned much from father

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Juhann Begarin has come a long way in the last two years, going from a youngster looking to get out of Guadeloupe to becoming one of France's top talents in his generation and taking over a leadership role for U18 CFBB Paris at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Kaunas.

Begarin was named to the all-tournament team in Kaunas after leading his team to a third-place finish and leading the event with 4.3 steals per game. He also ranked second in scoring (19.8 ppg.) and tied for fifth in rebounding (6.5 rpg.).

"It means a lot to play here because international competition is strong and it's always good to show up," said Begarin, who has come up with all this production despite being a year younger than the majority of competition; he won't turn 17 until mid-August 7.

This was actually the 1.94-meter guard's second go-around at ANGT Kaunas after he collected 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in 23 minutes over three games at least season's event.

"I learned how to be hard and be tough. Also to be fearless and go to war and not be afraid of anybody," Begarin said through a teammate acting as interpreter.

A year earlier, Begarin was still at home in Guadeloupe in the southern Caribbean. Despite having produced basketball talents such as Rodrigue Beaubois, Mickael Gelabale and the brothers Florent and Mickael Pietrus, the insular region of France is not that big in the sport.

"On the island, the level is not that high, so I was trying to get to France as quickly as possible," said Begarin, the youngest of four brothers. One of those brothers is Jessie Begarin, who currently plays with French second division side Rouen after having played parts of four seasons in the top level, including the previous two with ESSM Le Portal Cote d'Opale. Juhann is also following in his big footsteps as the 30-year-old Jessie played with CFBB – then known as INSEP – from 2004-2006 after coming to France as 16-year-old.

"My brother pushes me a lot, but I cannot see him a lot because we have a lot of practice and a lot of games in the [third division]," Juhann said of seeing his older brother, who lives about an hour and a half away by train.

Juhann lives in the French capital, Paris, with his parents, who accompanied him on the journey from Guadeloupe. He said he values the top level experience and training he is getting at the famed French program.

"It’s the best opportunity in France. It has the best facilities and everything around it," Begarin said.

ANGT Kaunas was the latest step in his development and an important chance to implement some of the things he learned when he went through a disappointing finish to the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018. Playing in his first national team event, Begarin led the French team in scoring with 15.6 points while also collecting 3.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.3 steals. The team went into the semifinals undefeated and hopeful of winning back-to-back U16 continental crowns, but lost to eventual champion Croatia in the semis and then to Turkey in the third-place game to leave Novi Sad, Serbia, empty-handed.

"I learned that everything is on the team. I did some good things, but without a good team, you cannot win. So now I am trying to play for the team and trying to be a leader," Begarin said.

Remember his name, because has come far already and his basketball journey is just getting started.



CFBB's Begarin has come a long way since leaving home

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Reigning continental champion U18 Rytas Vilnius will be out to repeat its status as winner of the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Kaunas. But it will face a stiff challenge from three other past champions in the field, including a hungry host side, U18 Zalgiris Kaunas. Joining the 2012 and 2018 champion Rytas and 2003 and 2007 title-holder Zalgiris in competing at Zalgirio Arena will be 2010 and 2017 winner U18 CFBB Paris and U18 CSKA Moscow, which is the record three-time champion from 2004, 2005 and 2006. The other four teams competing from Friday, February 8 to Sunday, February 10 will be U18 DBA Copenhagen, U18 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, U18 Stellazzurra Rome and U18 Torrons Vicens L'Hospitalet. The eight teams are split into two groups of four and will play a round-robin format within each group. The two first-place teams from those groups will face off on Sunday in the ANGT Kaunas first-place game, whose victor will join ANGT Valencia winner U18 Valencia Basket and ANGT Munich winner U18 Real Madrid as the third team qualified for the ANGT Finals in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain in May. The second-placed teams from each group in Kaunas will play for third place, the third-placed teams for fifth place and the fourth-placed teams for seventh place, also on Sunday.

Group A includes CFBB, Lokomotiv, L'Hospitalet and Zalgiris. CFBB, which used to be known as INSEP, has played in Kaunas the past four seasons, grabbing third place in 2015 and 2016, finishing in second place in 2017 en route to claiming the crown at the ANGT Finals, and then taking fifth place last season. The Russian club Lokomotiv will be making its ANGT debut. L'Hospitalet, meanwhile, will be playing its first ANGT event as a guest, as it was the home team for the ANGT L'Hospitalet between the 2007-08 season and this one. The Spanish club won its first ANGT game in 2015 and reached the semifinals in 2017 with two victories. Last season it was 1-3 in finishing seventh on its home court. For its part, Zalgiris will be out for revenge after losing to Stellazzurra in the final group game last season for its first-ever loss at the ANGT Kaunas, snapping a 22-game winning streak dating back to 2012. Zalgiris ended up placing third last season in Kaunas. Group B includes CSKA, Copenhagen, Rytas and Stellazzurra. CSKA has played at ANGT Kaunas in four of the last five seasons, also appearing at ANGT Rome in 2016. CSKA finished fourth last season and was third in 2017, the year it received a wild card for its first ANGT Finals appearance since 2007. Copenhagen will be making its debut under the DBA name but played at ANGT Kaunas in 2011-12 and ANGT Belgrade in 2014-15 as U18 Vaerlose BBK, taking fourth and sixth place, respectively. The Copenhagen team is no longer just a club, but also an academy run by the Denmark basketball federation. Rytas, meanwhile, did not lose an ANGT game all last season, going 4-0 in Kaunas and 4-0 at the ANGT Finals to hoist the trophy in Belgrade. After winning the ANGT L'Hospitalet in 2012 and ANGT Siauliai in 2013, Rytas had previously reached the ANGT Kaunas first-place game in 2016, losing to Zalgiris. The other team in Group B is Stellazzurra, which lost only two ANGT games all season, both of them to Rytas. The first was in the ANGT Kaunas first-place game and the other in the ANGT Finals Championship Game. The Italian club returns to Kaunas for its second season after playing in Belgrade in 2017 following a number of years hosting the ANGT Rome qualifier.



Zalgiris, Rytas rivalry headlines ANGT Kaunas qualifier

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uropean basketball fans watch Luka Doncic and recall his exploits in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the Slovenian national team.

Usman Garuba watches him and recalls the lessons he learned from practicing against Doncic with Real Madrid, lessons that helped Garuba win the MVP award at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich.

Garuba led U18 Real Madrid to repeat as the ANGT Munich winner with averages of 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.0 blocks and 26.5 performance index rating over four games last weekend.

Now, the 16-year-old would love to help Madrid win a second U18 continental trophy to match the one that Doncic raised in 2015.

"We all want this championship. We have a great team, we have a very great opportunity to win at home in Spain, and we are ready," Garuba said after Madrid's victory in Munich meant qualification to the ANGT Finals in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, in May, during the EuroLeague Final Four in the same city.

"[Doncic] is the guy who everyone in Real Madrid's youth teams follows."

Garuba, who will turn 17 on March 9, recalls not only watching Doncic win the ANGT title back in 2015, but has distinct memories of playing against him in practice with the eventual EuroLeague champions last season.

"He's special. He's a very good player. I've never seen another player like that. I practiced with him last year and it was amazing," said Garuba, who helped Madrid practice through many injuries last season, but did not appear in a EuroLeague game yet.

"He didn't teach me anything specific, but he showed that if you work hard and stay humble that anything can happen. He's the guy who everyone in Real Madrid's youth teams follows. We follow him. We learn from him."

Another thing Garuba observed from Doncic is how to deal with the pressure of expectations as Madrid came to Munich as the favorite. Not only did he and his teammates rise to the challenge, but Madrid has now qualified for the ANGT Finals for a sixth consecutive time.

"It's very difficult sometimes playing for Madrid because everyone is focused on us. But we tried and played hard," said Garuba, who last season was named to the all-tournament team at ANGT Munich.

Garuba learned another valuable lesson away from Madrid last summer, when he played for Spain at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018, looking to win his second U16 European crown following that of 2016, when he won the MVP honor as a 14-year-old. This time, Spain suffered its only loss of the tournament in the final, by 71-70 to Croatia, with Roko Prkacin hitting the game-winner with 3 seconds left.

"I learned that a final is a final," said Garuba, who collected 16 points, 18 rebounds and 4 assists in the final as an all-tournament team selection. "Anyone can win. We were the favorites, but anything can happen."

"You have to first think about defense, and everything else will come around."

Armed with the hurt of losing the U16 final and the motivation of implementing the lessons learned from Doncic, Garuba experienced another highlight on October 28, 2018, when he made his pro debut in the Spanish League.

"I was with the second team playing in Castilla-La Mancha. We finished the game and went to the bus and then they said to me that I would be playing with the first team the next day against San Pablo Burgos and I couldn't believe it," said Garuba, who collected 2 points and 2 rebounds in 3 minutes of the home game. "I didn't know the plays or anything, but they helped me a lot. And I am very happy for that."

Garuba, whose parents are from Nigeria but have lived in Spain for many years, has played in one more Spanish League game, scoring 7 points without a miss to go with 6 rebounds and 3 steals in mid-November, still sometimes practices with the Real Madrid pro team.

"I have to stay very humble and work hard. You have to first think about defense, and everything else will come around," Garuba said.

Wise words he learned by watching Luka Doncic do his thing.

U18 Madrid's Garuba: 'We learn from Doncic'

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Deni Avdija already possesses an impressive list of career accomplishments including carrying U18 Maccabi Teddy Tel Aviv to the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich first-place game. But the guard talent is more concentrated on just living the dream of being a basketball player.

Avdija was an MVP candidate in his performance in Munich and ended up being named to the All-Tournament Team as the event's leader in scoring (24.3 ppg.), assists (6.0 apg.). Steals (3.8 spg.) and performance index rating (31.5). He also ranked second in rebounds (11.0 rpg.).

"It's an honor to play here. It's good for me to play these minutes here and play and get this experience," said Avdija, who turned 18 on January 3. "It's an amazing competition and I'm proud that I am here and I am very proud that we are winning games and competing. I asked my senior team if I could come here and play and I respect their choice."

Avdija said being on the court with the guys he knows so well and playing against the best in Europe is special.

"I had so much fun coming here to this beautiful arena and playing with my best friends on the court and winning games. That's huge for me. That's what I play: to have fun and compete with my friends and fight with my friends. That's the best that I can ask for."

Avdija was the clear leader of the Maccabi team, which did not compete in the ANGT last season and last played in the ANGT Finals in 2006-07. He was hoping for some more magical moments in Germany after his last trip to the country ended with Israel winning its first national team continental crown when it captured the title at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2018 in Chemnitz.

"Goosebumps really. I can hardly express what it meant for me and what that team was like for me. A big, big, big experience and really an honor to represent my country and bring them the first gold medal and I will try my hardest to win all the trophies I can in the world," said Avdija, who averaged 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 steals in that event. That performance earned him a spot on the tournament's All-Star Five – at the tender age of 17 years old.

"I think age really doesn't matter. I am not thinking about my age," Avdija explained. "When I play at the senior level I am not thinking about how young I am or how weak I am. I am not thinking about this. I am playing my game and really everybody has their own development pace. Everybody develops at different speeds and I am not worried."

The 2.05-meter guard has basketball greatness in his blood; he is the son of former Crvena Zvezda Belgrade team captain and Yugoslavian international Zufer Avdija. The younger Avdija has already made history with Maccabi when he became the youngest player to debut with the club. He was 16 years and 320 days. when he appeared in an Israeli League game against Ironi Nes-Ziona on November 19, 2017.

"I was nervous, but my teammates shared the ball with me. They wanted me to score and I am thankful for this," said Avdija, who missed his two three-point shot attempts in 3 minutes of action that night. Nearly a year later - on November 22, 2018 - Avdija made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut when Maccabi hosted Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at Menora Mivtachim Arena.

"There I wasn't nervous. I was confident. I came into the game super ready and super motivated. I didn't get a lot of minutes but I tried my best and I am thankful that I scored that basket. It was very emotional for me. It's a moment that will stay with me all my life," said Avdija, who scored 2 points on one shot attempt in 2:28 minutes of action and has totaled 1:57 minutes in two other EuroLeague games this season.

Avdija said he is working hard to convince head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos to give him more playing time.



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"I am doing everything I can. I am working hard and I see myself in practices really getting better. Day by day I am progressing and making coach trust me more. I am trying to play good defense. I am not worried about playing, but am working and being thankful for the minutes I get. They are important. But I shouldn't worry. They will come," said Avdija, who is averaging 3.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 10.7 minutes over 12 games in the Israeli League.

Avdija practices solely with Maccabi's senior team so Munich was a chance to play with his boyhood friends - something he valued very much. But it was also just a chance to do something he truly loves and cherishes: playing the game. And that is something he expresses with every social media post with the hashtag #LivingTheDream. "It's so much fun. Every day I just say thanks for another day that I can touch the ball and score and be in gyms and just be with a lot of good guys and my teammates. It's really #LivingTheDream and I won't change it. That will always stay my motto."

Just living the dream while accomplishing great things.

Maccabi's Avdija is just #LivingTheDream

deni-avdija-u18-maccabi-teddy-tel-aviv-angt-munich-2019-photo-fcbb-eirich-jt18-9f8n44olq498kwyo.jpg

After leading U18 Real Madrid to the victory at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich, Usman Garuba was named Most Valuable Player of the event. Garuba, who made the ANGT Munich All-Tournament Team last season, collected 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block as Madrid beat U18 Maccabi Teddy Tel Aviv in the ANGT Munich first-place game, securing Madrid’s sixth consecutive berth in the ANGT Finals. At age 16, Garuba was among the younger players at the event and will be eligible to compete again next season, too. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks for a performance index rating of 26.5 at the ANGT Munich. Joining Garuba on the All-Tournament Team were his Madrid teammate Amar Sylla, Deni Avdija of Maccabi, Jason George of host club U18 FC Bayern Munich and Dusan Tanaskovic of U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade.

Garuba ranked second in performance index rating, fourth in scoring, fifth in both assists and blocks and 10th in rebounds. He also led all players in two-point shooting (75.8%). Sylla averaged 14.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and an ANGT Munich-leading 3.0 blocks for a PIR of 23.8. Avdija led the tournament in scoring (24.3 ppg.), assists (6.0 apg.) steals (3.8 spg.) and PIR 31.5 and was second in rebounds (11.0 rpg.). George collected 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting a tournament-best 88.2% from the free throw line. Tanaskovic led the tournament in rebounds (11.3 rpg.), second in blocks (2.5 bpg.) and third in both scoring (16.8 ppg.) and third PIR (23.8).