BELGRADE (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - The FIBA EuroBasket Trophy Tour rolled into Belgrade over the weekend, just in time to catch Serbia take on Greece and Montenegro in FIBA EuroBasket 2017 warm-up games.

The trophy was automatically recognizable to the Belgrade locals, with a customary photoshoot taking place in front of the city's iconic locations, including Church of Saint Sava and Hotel Moscow. Belgrade has previously welcomed older versions of the trophy on no less than 10 times, as a previous host city of FIBA EuroBasket, and as a city welcoming home European champions.

It was of little surprise then, to see fans (and players) getting up close to the Nikolai Semashko Trophy for photo opportunities, with it displayed in the arena for the entirety of the three-day competition.

Greek star Ioannis Bourousis with the FIBA EuroBasket trophy

The Serbian faithfuls were sent home happy, with the home side winning both of their games to take out the tournament, with Greece defeating Montenegro to take second spot.

Dejan Tomasevic, Secretary General of the Serbia Basketball Federation was among those on hand to see the trophy, and was full of positive words for the tour. 

"That's a great idea [to have the Trophy Tour]! It's a great thing that the fans have the opportunity to see it up close, especially the young basketball players who imagine themselves winning it in the future.

"The national team of Serbia always has big expectations. Now, our team is undergoing the most important part of the preparations. We hope that a few players will recover from injures, because we want to go to the EuroBasket as strong as possible."

The stop in Belgrade was quickly followed by a trip to Tbilisi, Georgia, and will next be in Hamburg, Germany this coming weekend.

FIBA