U16 European heroes latest part of whirlwind Bosnian summer

REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - Talk about a whirlwind summer - that's exactly what Bosnia and Herzegovina basketball fans have gone through in 2015.

First off, it was the first time that all three of Bosnia's age groups U16, U18 and U20 men were playing in Division A.

Despite having talent Nedim Busa on board at the U20 European Championship, the Bosnians were unable to really find their way in the first summer in the top flight.

The fact that the U20 field was going to be cut from 20 nations to 16 for next summer meant that seven teams would be relegated. Bosnia and Herzegovina slumped to 19th place and will make their way back to Division B.

The U18 team entered the tournament in Volos having already staved off relegation the past two summers and with dark horse chances of reaching the podium with a talented core who had played on the 2014 team.

Edin Atic was the U18 team's captain and inspirational leader, and he carried the Bosnians into the Semi-Finals - the first time the country had advanced to the Final Four of a FIBA event. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina were unable to get the victory in the Semis and then Atic got hurt in the opening minutes of the Third-Place Game. His teammates could not overcome the injury and finished fourth.

That same day, the 1999-born generation achieved their own history, beating Spain 89-79 to win the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival title in Tblisi, Georgia. 

That made that group of Bosnian players one of the favorites heading into the 2015 U16 European Championship in Kaunas.

This time it was Dzanan Musa who would be the inspirational leader - playing a similar role as Atic with the ball in his hands for much of the Bosnian offense. 

Musa was not alone though as Njegos Sikiras, Sani Campara and Emir Cerkezovic all had the experience of playing at the U16 Euros a summer earlier and formed the leadership core of the team.

And they carried their run from Georgia right into Lithuania.

They made history in the Quarter-Finals by knocking off Germany to qualfiy for the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship - the first time the Bosnians had ever booked a spot in a global FIBA event. 

Musa and Co. kept going in the Semis, knocking off Spain 86-78 in a double-overtime thriller to reach the country's first FIBA event final. 

Waiting in the title game were Lithuania as well as 4,500 partisan fans at the Kaunas Sports Hall. Musa flirted with a triple-double as he collected 33 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists as the Bosnians prevailed 85-83 over Lithuania to write history for the former Yugoslav republic, which has only existed as a country since 1992.

And the result was not lost on the people of the country as upwards of 50,000 flooded the streets of Sarajevo to give a group of 16 years olds a hero's welcome.

Bosnia's youth summer has not been roses off the court though. 

As the U18 team was making their run, reports surfaced saying that the Qatar Basketball Federation had bought up nine Bosnian players aged 16 and under - but not members of the title-winning team - and outfitted them with Qatari passports, meaning the players would not be considered naturalized. 

The Bosnian federation also apparently showed a lack of funds as they needed to take out a loan to send the U18 team to Volos, according to a report. And another report claimed that a private company from the home town of U16 national team head coach Josip Pandza paid the registration fee for the team which had it remained unpaid could have disqualified the team.

Those reports are all downers that the emphatic Bosnian faithful took in passing as they celebrated perhaps the biggest sports accomplishment in the country's history - right up their with Bosnia and Herzegovina reaching the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2014. 

This summer will never be forgotten by Bosnia and Herzegovina basketball, and there still remains EuroBasket 2015. The Bosnians might just take hold of the motivation and magic from their young compatriots and sweep the people off their feet yet again. 

Regardless of what happens to Bosnia and Herzegovina in France (first in Montpellier in the group stage of EuroBasket - and then in the knockout stages in Lille if they qualify), it's already been a whirlwind summer. 

David Hein

FIBA

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