BELGRADE (Serbia) - There's a formula to international basketball pregame broadcasts.
You've seen it a gazillion times, the visiting team huddle, cameras following the players as they are being introduced, then a wide shot of the arena transitioning into the same kind of procedure for the hosts, then another wide shot or beauty shots of fans, followed by the road team's anthem.
I didn't even know if I would come back at all.
That's where it felt different at the Farum Arena in Copenhagen. Because for the first time in over a year, it was Borisa Simanic standing tall, proudly singing Bože pravde, the national anthem of Serbia, sandwiched between Aleksa Avramovic and Dejan Davidovac.
"When the injury happened, I didn't expect to return this quickly. Actually, I didn't even know if I would come back at all," he said after Serbia's 72-52 win over Denmark, keeping them perfect in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.
He had a modest 3 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes of work, but the numbers don't matter in this story.
It was Simanic's first game for the national team since losing his kidney.
The elbow
Let's travel back in time to August 30, 2023.
It was just another day at the office for Serbia at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, after they had already picked up comfy wins over China and Puerto Rico, they were on cruise control against South Sudan, too, leading 106-78 with two minutes to play.
There was a fight for the rebound, Nuni Omot caught the ball and tried to go immediately back up with it, hitting Simanic with his left elbow as he went up.
Borisa's scream was a loud one, but not a long one, as he immediately put his arms on his knees, trying to catch his breath. It's surely nothing. He got back up, Omot apologized, it's probably just a hit in the rib cage.
He'll be fine, right? It wasn't even that bad, couldn't have been.
Except it was. The entire basketball community went through denial, then entered the stages of anger and bargaining, before falling to a collective depression thinking a 25-year-old's career is over.
Wait, career? No, it was way more serious than that, with reports of two surgeries in four days, and a loss of blood which expanded the search for his rare blood type all over the Philippines capital.
The long road back
But the fifth stage of grief brought acceptance. And Borisa was the one who initiated it, as described by Bogdan Bogdanovic after Serbia beat Lithuania in the Quarter-Finals of the World Cup.
"He was like, 'Guys, I'm good, don't worry. Let's win tonight!' For him, just to think about us after everything that happened to him, he united us. This (win) is for him," Bogdanovic smiled.
The rest is history. Borisa had his long road to recovery planned out, while Serbia reached the Final of the World Cup with his jersey always right there, front stage, and they went on to win an Olympic medal in Paris this past summer, too. His name was often heard from the stands, the Serbian fans keeping his story alive until he was ready to come back.
The road back saw him pen a deal with the perennial Bosnia and Herzegovina champions Igokea m:tel to start this season, staying as close as possible to doctor Dragan Gaga Radovanovic, the one who saved his life in Manila.
It's impossible to say anybody had any kind of expectations after more than a year away from basketball, after such a severe injury. And yet, Borisa Simanic needed no time at all to prove he's still got it.
He's averaging 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in the Adriatic League, while his Basketball Champions League numbers are even better, with 11.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
No wonder coach Svetislav Pesic wanted to have him back in the national team as soon as possible.
"Borisa played for the first time in the national team jersey after that serious injury. And that is good for him. But we have to be careful, let's not do something that is not good for us, or for Simanic, out of the desire for him to play," coach Pesic said after the win in Denmark.
Borisa wasn't the only Simanic in the arena, either, as his uncle Mladen's side of the family arrived in Copenhagen to see him wear the Serbian colors once again. It wasn't a long trip, Mladen Simanic was a long time player for Horsens and still lives there.
He made sure to capture the sign, "Everybody has their own superhero, and you are mine, Borisa."
The standing ovation
With all the emotions, the family in the stands, the inspirational comeback road, it would've been easy for Simanic to turn this into a biopic and talk about himself. Instead, he did the exact same thing as in Manila in 2023.
He put Serbia first.
"I am thrilled to be back with the national team. It's been a year and a half... The most important thing is that we played a good game and won," he said.
The reverse fixture will be played in Belgrade on Sunday. You already know the broadcasting formula, the huddles, the road team introductions, the wide shots, and then the home team intros. All the same, like a gazillion times before.
Until the announcer says: "Number 28..."
Then, stop whatever you're doing and listen in. Because that's when the most passionate basketball crowd in the entire world gets to welcome Borisa Simanic back with a deafening standing ovation, the kind that a hero deserves, perfectly closing the comeback chapter.
Can't wait for the next one.
FIBA