Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade features eight teams from seven countries with some of the top young talent available in the region.
ANGT Belgrade: Players to watch 2019
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5 Mins read
It's an excellent opportunity to see these top prospects in action with each team guaranteed at least four games. Let's get to know some of the players to watch.
U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade - Aleksandar Langovic
Langovic will be appearing in his second ANGT after he averaged 14.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game at ANGT Belgrade last season. At the ANGT Finals, he was worth 8.3 points and 7.3 rebounds for Mega. The 2.03-meter power forward has been with Mega since 2015 and also has international experience. He helped Serbia to third place at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017 with 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds and then collected 9.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. This season he averaged 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds for Mega at the U19 ABA Junior League qualifications and tallied 8.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in the Serbian top flight for OKK Belgrade. Langovic is explosive and has good awareness on offense. He also is a good shooter.
U18 Olympiacos Piraeus - Aleksej Pokusevski
Pokusevski will be playing at his second ANGT after he averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks at last season's ANGT Munich. The Serbian played at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018 and averaged 7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals plus a tournament-leading 3.0 blocks per game. The 2.11-meter forward is an all-around player who can go out on the perimeter and is a very good ball-handler, shooter and passer. One of this biggest strengths is his sense for and understanding of the game. Pokusevski is dominant defensively as a great shot-blocker and rebounder, though he must work on his strength and conditioning.
U18 Petrol Olimpija Ljubljana - Alen Malovcic
Malovcic will be making his ANGT debut, but has already played internationally at the national team level at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018. He averaged 18.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks there for Slovenia. He also already made his debut with Olimpija's senior team last season. Listed at 1.99 meters, Malovcic plays predominantly as a guard, where he can take advantage of his skill set and physical strength in one-on-one situations. The 2002-born player still needs to work on his shot consistency, something that will come with time in practice and on the court.
U18 Spars Sarajevo - Nikola Micic
This will be Micic's second ANGT after he collected 2.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals in two games at ANGT Belgrade last season. Micic has played for Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally; he tallied 9.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks per game at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017, Division B as an underage player. The 2002-born guard is 2.02 meters tall and can guard multiple positions. He has a pretty good three-point shot and a good understanding of the game.
U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade - Nemanja Popovic
Popovic will be playing in his second ANGT after he averaged 4.7 points and 3.0 rebounds at ANGT Belgrade last season. At the ANGT Finals, the 2.03-meter big man improved those numbers to 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds. Popovic also has played a role in Serbian success, collecting 5.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals as Serbia finished third at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017. And then he averaged 5.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists as Serbia took 10th place at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. Popovic is a very talented player with strong one-on-one skills and has a great feeling for space as well as blocking opponents' shots.
U18 Umana Reyer Venice - Luca Possamai
Possamai will be playing in his second ANGT after he averaged 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds at last season's ANGT Belgrade. The 2.11-meter center has not yet played for Italy's youth national teams. He has great height with a strong body. Possamai is a very good rebounder at both ends of the court. On offense, he can play one-on-one with his back to the basket and finish with a baby hook with both hands. On defense, he is a good shot-blocker. Possamai still has room to improve and can continue to work on his body and his general skill set.
U18 Cedevita Zagreb - Aleksa Gataric
Gataric will be making his ANGT debut for Cedevita. The 1.90-meter guard has played internationally, helping Bosnia and Herzegovina take second place at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018 Division B. He averaged 11.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game there. Gataric can play both guard spots and has a strong scoring instinct. He knows how to change the rhythm of the game and has a high basketball IQ. He's also a good ball-handler with a reliable pull-up jumper and is self-confident, fast and agile. One area where Gataric continues to need improvement is stretching his shooting range out to the three-point line.
U18 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul - David Mutaf
Mutaf will be appearing in his second ANGT after averaging 6.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists at ANGT Kaunas last season. The 1.96-meter shooting guard, who will still be a year younger than the rest of the competition as a 2002-born player, helped Turkey finish third at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018 with averages of 11.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Mutaf is an excellent shooter, both spot-up and off the dribble. The lefty has good court vision and is especially effective attacking with creativity to his left. He is not as comfortable with his right and needs to improve in that area. Mutaf has good size for his position, but struggles to defend quick guards.