Nedovic gears up for biggest challenge of his career

BELGRADE (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) – Everybody expects big displays from Milos Teodosic and Bogdan Bogdanovic at the Belgrade OQT, but don't be surprised if a third star emerges in the Serbian backcourt in the form of Nemanja Nedovic.

The late-season form of the Unicaja Malaga player was staggering, as he surged from an average of 8.2 points in the first 26 games to 18.3 points on 48% from three-point range during the last 10 encounters of the Spanish ACB (Liga Endesa) season.

“I think the OQT will probably be the biggest competition in my career. We're playing in front of our home crowd with a chance to qualify for the most important event in a sportsman's life" - Nedovic

The Serbian combo-guard's leap propelled Unicaja from ninth to sixth place in the regular season standings and helped them earn a play-off berth, albeit the Malaga side fell to Valencia Basket in the first round of the post-season.

Nedovic, who turns 25 three weeks before the Olympic Qualifying Tournament tips off in Belgrade, is in the best form of his senior career. It seems like, thanks to his impressive combination of ball-handling and athleticism, there is simply no defender right now he cannot beat off the dribble. Can he keep it up until 9 July?

“I certainly hope so, hopefully I will be on the final roster and I can help Serbia get to the Olympics,” he told fiba.com. “It's funny, but ever since I have been a professional player I have always played better towards the end of the season. My goal is to constantly maintain my current level of play.”

Nedovic's recent exploits appear even more impressive when one considers the string of injuries that plagued his young career. Adversity might have prevented him from realising the NBA career he had envisioned during his spell at the Golden State Warriors, but has never stopped him from tackling challenges head-on, both on and off the court.

He believes his most important challenge to date is just around the corner.

“I think the OQT will probably be the biggest competition in my career, it will be really special and, honestly, I cannot wait for it to start,” Nedovic said.

“We're going to play in front of our home crowd with a chance to qualify for the most important event in a sportsman's career. Until now, I have only watched the Olympics on TV. It would be a great honour to represent Serbia in the Olympics and I cannot imagine getting a better opportunity to qualify.”

The explosive Serbian guard made his senior national team debut in 2012 under Dusan Ivkovic, played at both FIBA EuroBasket 2013 and 2015 and the only reason he missed the FIBA Basketball World Cup in between was an injury.

That is why Nedovic is conscious that playing for Serbia in a packed Belgrade Arena will entail an even greater degree of responsibility any player of his generation has ever assumed in a national team jersey.

“There will for sure be pressure because the media and the fans expect a lot from us after the silver medal at the 2014 World Cup was followed by the unfortunate fourth place at EuroBasket 2015,” he stated.

“The pressure is going to be our first opponent but there are no excuses, we're playing at home and we have to beat every team and get the ticket to the Olympics.

“Of course it's going to be hard. I am not very familiar with Japan, Puerto Rico or Angola but I know well the two Europeans. Czech Republic and Latvia are very serious teams, whenever we played against them they gave us a good fight.”

FIBA