"You live and work for moments like these," says new Serbian hero Avramovic

BELGRADE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - The town of Cacak in central Serbia is always going to be one steeped in basketball. And the European Qualifiers handed the opportunity to Aleksa Avramovic, the newest member of the Cacak school, to shine. 

The 23-year-old had his defining moment last Sunday. Down two in the final minute in Austria, Serbia needed something, no matter how it happened. A dribble drive almost became a turnover, but Ivan Paunic managed to keep it together and find Avramovic on the wing. The rest is history, as he delivered the southpaw knockout.

"A lot of people called to congratulate me. It's a beautiful feeling. And this is a motivation for me to continue working in the same direction," the point guard from Cacak said.

"THESE ARE THE KIND OF MOMENTS YOU LIVE FOR AND WORK FOR EVERY DAY" AvramovicAvramovic

Older generations will mention Dragan Kicanovic or Zeljko Obradovic. The 30+ age group probably remembers Uros Tripkovic running through screens and soaring sky-high with his sublime jumpshot, or Tadija Dragicevic and his bag of tricks in halfcourt sets. With a game-winning triple for Serbia, Avramovic is on his way to being added to the Wikipedia list of notable people from the town in central Serbia.

"I wasn't afraid at all, especially after (head coach) Sasa Djordjevic encouraged me by saying: 'Take the ball and play freely.' When he said that, I couldn't back down. I attacked fearlessly, didn't think about the consequences."

Serbia avoided going 0-2 in the February window thanks to Avramovic's late-game heroics. In fact thanks to the win, they are standing tall at 3-1 in Group G and have secured their place in the Second Round. 

The Pallacanestro Varese player credited the time spent with the national team for helping him develop his game better during the season.

"I was with the team during the first window [in November] and from that point on I improved a lot, made a huge leap forward. It was an amazing experience to work with coach Djordjevic and the national team. My communication with my coach, with the fans - it all got better, and I got so much advice that made me better," Avramovic said.

"Back when ex-Yugoslavia started creating winning generations, there were coaches like Kresimir Cosic, that organized a type of short 2-or-3 days national team camps during the season. Cosic slowly brought in more and more players to his system and checked all of us out. That was an advantage," Djordjevic recalled.

"Now, we also must chase results, and that is the kind of pressure for these young players, they really have to show talent and growth during practices and have to win the games at the same time. That allows us to see which players we can count on in the future. For sure, this is a good thing, not just for us, but also for the fans and the players, to see where they are, what level they can be good on."

"I WAS WITH THE TEAM DURING THE FIRST WINDOW AND FROM THAT POINT ON I IMPROVED A LOT, MADE A HUGE LEAP FORWARD. IT WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE TO WORK WITH COACH DJORDJEVIC AND THE NATIONAL TEAM. MY COMMUNICATION WITH MY COACH, THE FANS - IT ALL GOT BETTER AND I GOT SO MUCH ADVICE THAT MADE ME BETTER" AvramovicAvramovic

The new qualifying format gave the players an opportunity to play in front of their own fans. Serbia played two away games in February, but still felt the love from the stands.

"Our hearts were full when we played and heard chants: 'Serbia! Serbia!' from the stands," said Marko Simonovic.

"How beautiful was this in Vienna?! There were 3,000 fans, and [it felt like] 2,700 of them were from Serbia! I enjoyed it," added Ilija Djokovic.

Djokovic himself is yet another piece of the Serbian puzzle that is growing up in Cacak, playing for Borac. And the emotion that he and Avramovic are currently going through makes it easier on Miroslav Raduljica - who plays for Jiangsu Dragon in China's CBA - to travel halfway across the planet just to be with his national team.

"Look at them, they are all smiling, happy because they are here. And so am I. It's always great to come back home, see the guys and support every national team action," said the 30-year-old.

Raduljica is flying back to China now but it would be a massive surprise not to see him back in Serbia for the June-July window.

FIBA