Representing your country internationally is a major honor for athletes. And for Marek Blazevic, playing for Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius is just as golden an opportunity as wearing the Lithuania jersey.

Playing for Rytas like wearing Lithuania jersey to Vilnius native Blazevic

That is because the Rytas center was born and raised in Vilnius. Blazevic has already done both. After playing for Lithuania at the FIBA U16 European Championship last summer, the big man starred for U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius at the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Kaunas.

"It’s an amazing feeling to be born in Vilnius and play for Rytas. That’s like playing for the Lithuanian national team," said Blazevic, who made the ANGT Kaunas All-Tournament Team after he averaged 12.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

He helped Rytas beat U18 Stellazzurra Rome in the Kaunas final to reach the ANGT Finals for the sixth time. "Those emotions are for the rest of my life," said Blazevic, who picked up 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in the win over Stellazzurra.

Now it’s time for Blazevic and co. to look to add a second U18 continental title to Rytas's trophy-case following the crown in 2012.

"We have to play with the atmosphere of a team and that passion of basketball. Not every time will talent win. You have to want to grab the rebound, to box out your man,” the 17-year-old, who joined Rytas over the summer, said.

That feeling of unity was a major reason Rytas was able to win the ANGT Kaunas, according to Blazevic. "We were a team. We were one fist. Everyone was happy. It’s amazing to play on a team where everyone is happy," he said.

Playing for Lithuania is also a thrill for Blazevic, whose parents were born in Lithuania, but his maternal grandfather was Polish. The 2.07-meter big man speaks Polish; he attended a Polish school in Lithuania. That was his grandmother’s wish since his mother went to a Russian school during the Soviet Union and could not join the Polish school.

Blazevic also started his sports playing with another ball. "It was first grade and everybody said let’s go play football. I was young and wanted to be with my friends," Blazevic remembered. "I was playing football and the basketball coach saw me and asked if I wanted to try basketball. I liked it and here I am now."

Here for Blazevic is still early in his development, but already having made a name in the game. And he is not afraid to work hard on his game - looking to Dario Saric and Anthony Davis as far as basketball role models go.

"I like those types of guys and how they play," Blazevic said. "They play fast. They are not slow big men. They can shoot, they can switch to the four spot. I like that type of game, and I am trying to copy it."

Blazevic would love to copy Saric in another way too. The Croatian star won the ANGT title in 2011 with U18 KK Zagreb. That was the year before Rytas won its only crown, and Blazevic is eager to give his hometown fans another reason to celebrate.



Every player dreams of making it big in the game and Arturs Zagars is no different.

Zagars inspired by former Joventut greats

Whenever the young Latvian point guard faces challenges in his quest, all he needs to do is look at the many greats who have played for U18 Divina Seguros Joventut Badalona. Joventut, the 2013 Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT champion, has produced some of Spain’s biggest and brightest talents including Rudy Fernandez, Raul Lopez, Alex Mumbru, Pau Ribas, Ricky Rubio and Guillem Vives.

Zagars feels the club's history just by walking around the facilities in the Barcelona suburbs. "It’s inspirational," the 17-year-old said. "Every day we walk into the arena and their faces are on the walls, and it’s inspirational."

Zagars transitioned that inspiration into performance in putting together an outstanding showing at the ANGT L’Hospitalet. The playmaker averaged 14.0 points, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals at the event, which Joventut won to get back to the ANGT Finals for the first time since 2014.

"The whole season we were preparing for this and it paid off," said Zagars. "This is the best feeling I have ever had in my entire life. We worked so hard, all the sweat and all the blood paid off."

The Riga native is in his first season with Joventut, following an ever-growing trend of Latvians coming to Spain to hone their basketball skills. Other Latvians who moved to the Iberian peninsula early in their career include Kristaps Porzingis, Anzejs Pasecniks, Rolands Smits and the Kurucs brothers, Rodions and Arturs. Zagars, who played with Baskonia prospect Arturs Kurucs at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016, admitted that he really didn’t know much about Joventut when he came to his tryout last year.

"Before I came here I didn’t know anything about this club. I knew that it played in the ACB, but I didn’t know they had a junior system," said Zagars, who played last season with BS DSN Riga in Latvia. "Then I came and I started to get to know the people and get to know the club and I fell in love with it."

Zagars said it was the family atmosphere at Joventut that helped him decide on the club. "It's one big family. The whole staff, all the players are like one big family. Maybe it’s not the richest club, but the coaches and players are like family. They put the maximum into the players and want us to reach our maximum potential. That’s why I came here."

Even with the family feeling, the transition to Spain was a challenge for Zagars, who will turn 18 years of age in late April. "The first couple of months were difficult, adjusting to the language. As time goes by it’s getting better and better. The coaches trust me more. I just need to work," he said.

Zagars's hard work has paid off with the senior team as well; he already made his ACB debut with Joventut. He played seven minutes against Baskonia on March 11 and scored 2 points.

Now that the field is set for the ANGT Finals and Joventut knows which teams it will face, Zagars and co. can start thinking about adding another U18 continental crown to the one from 2013. "Our goal is to compete for the championship. We will work even harder now," he said.

And maybe that hard work will end up with Zagars becoming an inspiration for future youngsters walking around the Joventut facilities. 

Every player dreams of making it big in the game and Arturs Zagars is no different. 

U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade owns one Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT continental crown from back in 2014. 

Belgrade MVP Paunovic ready to lead Zvezda in ANGT Finals, too

But after winning the club's eighth straight ANGT Belgrade title as MVP, Zoran Paunovic is hoping to guide the team back to the top of Europe – especially since the ANGT Finals are going to be played in the Serbian capital at the Final Four in May.

Paunovic collected 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.0 blocks to lead Zvezda to the ANGT Belgrade trophy. Those numbers included his 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a victory over city rival U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade in the championship game.

"I think we deserved to win," said Paunovic, who led the tournament in scoring, performance index rating (33.3), steals and three-point percentage (56%). "We trained so hard. And I'm very happy and proud of my teammates that we won this tournament in such a dominant way."

Those numbers helped him to win the MVP award, which comes after he was named to the all-tournament team last year in Belgrade as well.

"This award means a lot to me," he said. "It's my biggest success until now in my career. I'm really happy because of that. I didn't expect at the beginning of this tournament that I would achieve that. My goal was that my team wins first place and I played that way."

Paunovic is a native of Nis, the third-largest city in Serbia, located in the southeast.

"My first basketball steps were when I was seven years old, in elementary school. I quit several times, but when I was 10 years old I started to practice with KK Konstantin Nis," he recounts.

After four years with Konstantin, the mighty Crvena Zvezda came calling in 2014.

"After that, I was starting to work more seriously and to think about a professional basketball career. For now, I am satisfied with my progress and I do not regret that I came to Zvezda."

The 2.00-meter guard's progress in 2016 earned him a spot on Serbia's U16 national team. He was the country's second-leading scorer at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016 with 14.6 points to go along with 4.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Paunovic and Serbia lost to Finland and Greece in the group stage and were defeated by Montenegro in the Round of 16 to miss out on the medals podium and a possible spot at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2017.

Paunovic has taken a big step forward since last year, when he relied more on his defense to gain his playing time for Zvezda. Paunovic is more responsible for the team now, both on offense and defense, as well as on and off the court as captain.

"It is a big honor to be captain. It is the proof that the coach has a lot of confidence in me," Paunovic said.

"The leader of the team is the player who is the best on offense and defense. He should find a way to score when the team is playing bad. That is my opinion. With the leader's role, I always try to take responsibility in tough situations and to find solutions in important moments."

Zvezda will be making its eighth straight trip to the ANGT Finals. And Paunovic feels the team is good enough to not only reach its fourth ANGT championship game – after going to three straight from 2014 to 2016 – but also to add the 2018 trophy to the previous one from 2014.

"We'll try to win," he said. "I think we have a high-quality team, a team that can win the trophy. We will practice very hard for sure, and we hope that we achieve the best result."

As opposed to the previous seven trips to the ANGT Finals, Zvezda's players will not need to travel very far to the games since they are taking place in Belgrade at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four from May 18 to 20 in the Serbian capital.

"That will be amazing for us," Paunovic said about playing the ANGT Finals at home. "I think that will be an advantage for us."

The talented guard hopes the home fans can carry him and the club back to the top of Europe.

It took a while for Marko Pecarski, but in the process of breaking a Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT record, the Partizan NIS Belgrade big man is finally playing alongside his role model growing up, Novica Velickovic.

ANGT record-setter Pecarski now plays alongside his idol

"Most of my role models were players from Partizan, because all of my life I was a big Partizan fan, and one of my role models was Novica Velickovic, who is now my teammate. So that's very meaningful," said Pecarski, who has played this season with Partizan's senior team and averaged 4.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 10 games in the 7DAYS EuroCup.

Pecarski never played for the tradition-rich Belgrade club growing up. He started with KK Zemun Belgrade and then went to Mega Bemax Belgrade before leaving the country to play in Germany for FC Bayern Munich. In the off-season, he moved to Partizan. Pecarski held off the decision to sign a professional contract until after his 18th birthday - which was on February 12. Part of the reason for that was that he was considering going to college in the United States, but Pecarski agreed after ANGT Belgrade to a four-year deal with Partizan.

"I am happy and proud of my first professional contract. I believe I will continue to develop and progress in all fields at Partizan. And I will be able to justify the trust," he said.

That means Pecarski will have a long relationship with the club with which his father, Miroslav Pecarski, achieved fame by winning the 1989 Korac Cup. The younger Pecarski can always talk to his father, who helped Greek power Panathinaikos to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title in 1996.

"My father helps me a lot in my career because he went through everything I need to go through," said Marko, whose father retired in 2000, the year Marko was born. "I talk to him and he can help me in bad times. He tells me many important things and that helps me develop myself because he knows what I have to do to reach a higher level."

Part of reaching a higher level was facing the best opposition. And at each of his stops, Pecarski took part in the annual ANGT competition - the first time just days after turning 14 years of age for U18 KK Zemun in 2014. "That was something totally new for me. It was my first international tournament and this is a big stage for young players. I remember getting minutes and it was a good experience. I felt good," said Pecarski, who averaged 2.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in three games.

He played the 2015 ANGT again with Zemun before moving to Mega for one season and then Bayern for another. He marked his fifth ANGT event this season with Partizan. One of the biggest highlights was averaging 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in helping Mega win the ANGT Rome in 2016 and then go to the ANGT Finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin.

"That was a huge thing for us to go to the Final Four," said Pecarski, who collected 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in Berlin.

Pecarski earned a spot on the ANGT Coin 2017 All-Tournament, but the moment was not as special because Bayern did not play well. "I was not satisfied because my team was seventh and it was a very bad result," he said.

His return to the ANGT Belgrade – he played for Zemun twice in the Serbian capital – also saw Pecarski return to the All-Tournament Team. But his 18.3 points and 8.5 rebounds were not enough as Partizan lost to now-eight-time reigning ANGT Belgrade champion U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 90-59 in the final.

"It was special for me because I played with the team from my hometown, but there will always be bad feelings because we didn't win the tournament," he said.

The 2.08-meter center set a record at ANGT Belgrade in becoming the first player to appear in the tournament in five different years. Samba Ndiaye played for U18 Real Madrid in the competition four times from 2013 to 2016 and Nikola Zizic of U18 Barcelona Lassa also has four appearances, including this year's competition.

"It's a great thing that I was the first player to do this. And it's been a pleasure every time to play in the competition. Every time was a new experience," he said.

Pecarski, who was actually born in Gijon, Spain, while father was playing for Spanish club Cabitel Gijon, is nearing another all-time ANGT mark. The ANGT Belgrade final was Pecarski's 23rd game in ANGT history, which places his alone in seventh place in tournament history - three games off the record of 26 by Ndiaye, who had the advantage of playing in two ANGT Finals.

Pecarski actually has a chance to break that record as well - if Partizan gets a wild card for the ANGT Finals. Partizan would then get three group games, which could then pull Pecarski even with Ndiaye. Pecarski could then pull ahead with a 27th game if Partizan was able to reach the ANGT Championship Game.

Pecarski does not want to get excited about Partizan possibly playing in its first-ever ANGT Finals. "Maybe we will receive a wild card, maybe we won't. But that's not something we should think about. It would be a lot better if we had deserved that spot in the Final Four. But it would be nice to play that tournament in our home city."

Until then Pecarski will be playing alongside Velickovic and learning from one of his role models.

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Zoran Paunovic, who led U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade to the title at Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Belgrade, was named the tournament’s MVP on Sunday. 

Paunovic named ANGT Belgrade MVP

Paunovic ranked first in the tournament in scoring with 24.5 points, including a team-high 26 points in Zvezda’s victory in the final over U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade. The guard also topped all players in the tournament in performance index rating at 33.3, while leading in steals as well with 3.3 per game and hitting 55.6 percent of his three-pointers, which was best in the field. Paunovic also averaged 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 blocks.

Joining Paunovic on the All-Tournament Team were Marko Pecarski of U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade, Kenan Kamenjas of U18 Spars Ziraat Bank Sarajevo, Federico Miaschi of U18 Umana Reyer Venice and Luka Cerovina of U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade. Pecarski was fourth in index rating at 24.2 while scoring 18.3 points to go with 8.5 rebounds and shooting 60.5% from inside the three-point line. Kamenjas finished second in index rating at 27.8 while topping the tournament in rebounds with 14.3 per game. He also averaged 13.8 points, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks. Miaschi was the second-best scorer, averaging 23.3 points while also collecting 9.3 rebounds - third-best in the tournament - for an index rating of 25, also third-best in Belgrade. He chipped in 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals, too. Cerovina averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists, the latter ranking third in the competition. And he was second in steals (2.5 spg) and blocks (1.5 bpg).

ANGT Belgrade features teams from the host country as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy and Turkey. Moreover, the rosters are stacked with top talents from those countries and many more. 

ANGT Belgrade Players to Watch 2018

The last of the four Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT qualifying series comes to Serbia this weekend. Here's a primer on some of the players to watch from the eight teams in action this weekend.

#### U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul: Mustafa Kurtuldum
Kurtuldum will be playing his first ANGT. The 1.96-meter guard has played at two FIBA U16 European Championships for Turkey; he helped his nation to the bronze medal in 2016 and fifth place in 2017. Last summer, he averaged 11.7 points and 2.3 rebounds as Turkey qualified for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. Kurtuldum is a natural scorer with quick and accurate shooting ability, who can penetrate to the basket and finish with strength. He excels in offensive transition and finishes nicely on the break. Kurtuldum uses his strength and toughness to make an impact defensively, too.

#### U18 Cibona Zagreb: Dino Bistrovic
Bistrovic will be playing his second ANGT after averaging a team-high 16.5 points plus 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals last year in Coin. He also has international experience with Croatia; Bistrovic produced 0.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016. The 1.90-meter shooting guard has been with Cibona since childhood and is one of the club’s most promising prospects. Bistrovic has led his teams to numerous medals in the youth categories and has been selected many times as the best player of the season. The Zagreb native is effective in attacking the basket and can play off contact. He has a quick release and has extended the range of his outside shot.

#### U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade: Zoran Paunovic
Paunovic will be playing his second ANGT after making the All-Tournament Team at ANGT Belgrade last year. Despite being a year below age, Paunovic averaged 11.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.5 steals to help Zvezda win the tourney. At the ANGT Finals, the 2.00-meter guard collected 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Paunovic has represented Serbia at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016, where he tallied 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals. The Zvezda team captain makes his biggest mark at the defensive end. Paunovic also has good quickness to get past his defender and is a solid finisher around the basket, though he is still working on improving his outside shot.

#### U18 GBA Prague: Mark Jaakson
Jaakson will be playing his first season in the ANGT. The 18-year-old, who joined GBA in early December, is a 1.96-meter wing. Jaakson has not yet played for the Estonian national team, though he is expected to play a role at this summer’s FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division B. Jaakson is a good slasher and shooter and a physical defender, who is working on finishing around the rim and ball distribution.

#### U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade: Bogdan Nedeljkovic
Nedeljkovic will be playing his third ANGT after averaging 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 2016 and 4.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocks last year. The 2.02-meter forward had games of 11 points and 8 rebounds against U18 Real Madrid and 9 points and 10 rebounds versus U18 Zalgiris Kaunas in the ANGT Finals. Nedeljkovic also played for Serbia at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016, where he posted 3.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists. Nedeljkovic has taken over a leadership role with Mega. He has an excellent basketball body and physical predisposition and participates in all facets of the game - rebounding, scoring, assisting and blocking. He also has proven to be very good in crucial moments. He continues to work on the consistency of his jump shot.

#### U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade: Marko Pecarksi
Pecarski will be playing his fifth ANGT after two years with U18 Zemun Belgrade in 2014 and 2015. He helped U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade to the ANGT Rome title in 2016 and then averaged 19.7 points and 14.3 rebounds for U18 FC Bayern Munich at the ANGT Coin last year, including grabbing a record-tying 24 rebounds against U18 Cibona Zagreb. Pecarksi has played three summers for the Serbian national teams, including helping Serbia to the title at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2017 with 12.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Pecarski’s father Miroslav Pecarski won the EuroLeague in 1996 with Panathinaikos Athens and the 1989 Korac Cup with Partizan. Marko has been playing with Partizan’s first team this season and averaged 4.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.6 steals in 13 minutes in the 7DAYS EuroCup. Pecarski, who stands 2.08 meters, has a great three-point shot. He also has great timing on the offensive glass. Pecarski, who was born in Gijon, Spain, continues to work on his one-on-one defense.

#### U18 Spars Sarajevo: Tarik Biberovic
Biberovic will be playing his third ANGT despite still being a year younger than the rest of the competition this year. Last year he averaged 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks for Spars at ANGT Belgrade. Biberovic also has played for Bosnia and Herzegovina; he recorded 7.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016. The 2.01-meter forward signed a long-term deal with Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul earlier this season, but remains at Spars on loan. He comes from a basketball family and has strong work habits. He can shoot equally well from inside and beyond the three-point line. Biberovic’s good energy contributes to the team spirit and helps make his teams better.

#### U18 Umana Reyer Venice: Federico Miaschi
Miaschi will be playing his second ANGT after averaging 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals at the 2015-16 ANGT Rome despite being two years younger than most of the competition. The Genova native played for Italy at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016 and collected 18.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks. Last summer Miaschi averaged 3.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2017. The 1.95-meter guard has a good shooting technique and a quick release. He also handles the ball well with good court vision and passing skills to help out at the point guard spot. Miaschi also has a quick first step and is determined, tenacious and always ready to lead the team.

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The fourth and final automatic ticket for the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals is up for grabs this weekend at ANGT Belgrade. 

Can Zvezda make it eight straight ANGT Belgrade titles?

The 2014 continental champion, U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, is the event host and winner of the last seven qualifying tournaments held in the Serbian capital. Zvezda is the only former champion in an eight-team Belgrade field that also includes U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade, which lost to U18 CFBB Paris in last year’s ANGT Championship Game. Zvezda and Mega, who met in last year’s ANGT Belgrade final, headline the two groups of four teams each. In Group A with Zvezda are U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul from Turkey, U18 Spars Ziraat Bank Sarajevo from Bosnia and Herzegovina and U18 Umana Reyer Venice from Italy. Group B’s other three teams are U18 Cibona Zagreb from Croatia, U18 GBA Prague from the Czech Republic and U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade from Serbia. The teams will play each other in their group round-robin style with the two first-place teams to face off on Sunday at Zeleznik; the winner will receive a ticket to the ANGT Finals along with ANGT L’Hospitalet winner U18 Divina Seguros Joventut, ANGT Kaunas champion U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius and ANGT Munich victor U18 Real Madrid.

Zvezda enters the tournament as a seven-time reigning champion, having won each year from 2011 to 2017. The Serbian power won the ANGT Finals in 2014 and lost in the ANGT Championship Game in both 2015 and 2016. Zvezda also comes into the event with a 31-game winning streak in qualifying tournaments, dating back to an 85-69 loss to U18 Beovuk 72 in the 2011 edition. Efes is back in the competition after not playing last year. In 2016, the Turkish club was 0-4 at ANGT Rome in its first appearance since the 2012 ANGT Finals. Spars is playing in the ANGT for the seventh straight year. It finished fourth in Belgrade last year, one year after losing to Zvezda in the 2016 ANGT Belgrade final. Spars appeared in the ANGT Finals in 2013 and 2015. Venice is making its third go-around in the competition after placing last in Belgrade in 2015 and finishing seventh in Rome in 2016. The club did not compete in the ANGT last year.

Mega is a growing power in the ANGT; it lost just twice last year - in the ANGT Belgrade final to Zvezda and in the ANGT Championship Game to U18 CFBB Paris. Mega claimed victory in the ANGT Rome tournament and reached the ANGT Finals in 2016. It also lost to Zvezda in the ANGT Belgrade final in 2013. Cibona is appearing in the ANGT for the fifth time in six years - and will be playing at a different location for the fifth straight time. It was fifth at ANGT Coin last year after taking third at ANGT Kaunas in 2016. In 2014, Cibona played in Rome and a year earlier participated in ANGT Siauliai. GBA will be playing in the ANGT for the second time after finishing sixth last year in Belgrade with one victory in its maiden showing. Partizan is coming off its worst performance in going 0-4 for an eighth-place finish last year in Belgrade. Partizan, which has never played in the ANGT Finals, reached the ANGT Belgrade final twice, losing to Zvezda in 2012 and 2015.

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Nikos Arsenopoulos grew up as an Olympiacos Piraeus supporter, so it has been pretty special for him this season to observe and face off against his role model, Vassilis Spanoulis, in practice. 

Watching Spanoulis an honor for Olympiacos talent Arsenopoulos

The combo guard built on that experience to earn a spot on the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Munich All-Tournament Team.

With Olympiacos competing in Europe’s elite U18 club competition this season for the first time since 2007, Arsenopoulos led the Reds to a fourth-place finish by averaging 23.5 points per game, which were the second-most in the weekend tourney. The highlight was a 41-point showing against U18 Brose Bamberg, which also helped him rank third in performance index rating at 22.8 after averaging 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 6.8 fouls drawn.

"It’s a great competition. The level of competition is huge. Coming here and getting two victories is important for us and Olympiacos. It shows our work and dedication from the whole year," said Arsenopoulos, who turns 18 years old in May. “This tournament means a start for me and every guy on the team. We hope to have a great future here."

Arsenopoulos started playing the game at about 5 years of age. He said the Reds were always his team of choice. “I was always an Olympiacos fan, always a fan of the guys. And now to be a part of this team is a huge honor,” said Arsenopoulos, who joined Olympiacos in the summer of 2016 and signed a six-year deal. “I’m still thinking about it. It’s kind of hard to realize where my position is right now, but I am just trying to do my best."

The 1.98-meter guard has already appeared in five Greek A1 league games for Olympiacos during which he has averaged 1.2 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists over 5.2 minutes per game. “It’s a very tense experience,” he said of playing for the Reds senior squad. “But the easy part was my teammates were great. They supported me. They are great guys. Playing basketball with them is a really big honor.”

Arsenopoulos said that when he was growing up, his role models were NBA stars like Steph Curry and James Harden. But Spanoulis held a major spot in his heart as well. Spanoulis has not played in any of the five official games in which Arsenopoulos has appeared this season though they did play some friendly games before the season together.

“The only thing I have to do is just keep looking to him and watching him and learn everything from him. And hopefully I can be a great player like him one day,” said Arsenopoulos.

He said he is really watching Spanoulis and his step-side move. But there is so much to the legend to follow and observe. “His character; that’s the most important thing about him. That’s why I think he’s the best player in Europe,” Arsenopoulos said.

When asked how it is to try to guard Spanoulis in practice, Arsenopoulos laughed and offered: “He’s unguardable. You can’t guard him.”

Arsenopoulos did a good job showing at the ANGT Munich that he’s pretty tough to guard too. But the young talent is trying to stay grounded with regard to his dreams and hopes. “My dream right now is to play in the first team. Until then, that’s the first goal. I want to have smaller goals and just improve all the time.”

With that in mind, Arsenopoulos has the advantage of facing a legend – and a role model – on the practice floor on a regular basis to get better and reach the next level.

Nikos Arsenopoulos grew up as an Olympiacos Piraeus supporter, so it has been pretty special for him this season to observe and face off against his role model, Vassilis Spanoulis, in practice.

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The Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals in Belgrade in May will have special meaning for Mario Nakic.

ANGT Munich MVP awaits return home for finals with Madrid

Not only will he be returning home to his native Serbia, but Nakic will also be hoping to lead U18 Real Madrid to its second continental title. That dream became possible when they won ANGT Munich together last weekend and he claimed that qualifying tournament's MVP award.

Nakic averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steal in Munich. He scored a team-high 23 points to go with 9 rebounds and 5 assists in Madrid's 77-57 win over host team U18 FC Bayern Munich in the final.

"Winning the MVP means a lot. It's a boost in your confidence," said Nakic, who was playing in his first ANGT event. "But I look at it in another way. I look at it that we got a win in the final, which is what we came here for."

Madrid has now reached the ANGT Finals for the fifth consecutive year, having won the title in 2015 after losing the continental championship game in 2014.

"We're in the ANGT Finals for the fifth year in a row, but it doesn't mean anything," Nakic said confidently. "Last year we lost. This year we're going to win again."

When asked what Madrid must do to add a 2018 trophy to the one from 2015, the 1.99-meter forward said: "We need to go in there and play hard. Nobody is going in there soft. The EuroLeague Final Four will only be the best teams at U18 in Europe after the qualifications, so we have to go there with a go-hard mentality and fight hard. We have to play like a team as we did in [ANGT Munich] and hopefully things will go like this one."

The 2018 ANGT Finals will also mean heading back to his homeland, which he left in 2015 to join the Real Madrid organization.

"I cannot wait to go and witness [the Final Four] because the atmosphere in Serbia is great, as people know when Partizan or Zvezda play," said Nakic, who will turn 17 in June.

"I'm very excited to go there and live that experience because I have never been to a Final Four. We're all going there with a lot of excitement and expectations."

Nakic learned the game from his father Ivo Nakic, who won the EuroLeague crown three times: with Cibona Zagreb in 1985 and 1986 and with Partizan in 1992. The younger Nakic, who was born in Belgrade, started his basketball career with Belgrade club Zemun. Nakic stayed there for four years until he was 12 years old.

"I always wanted to play at Partizan and one day my dad called me and asked if I wanted to play at Partizan and I said yes," Nakic remembered.

Nakic played at Partizan for one season and then tried out with Real Madrid, which then asked him to join the club at 14 years of age in August 2015.

"I knew like everyone else that it's a great club, the greatest club in Europe, the biggest club in Europe with the biggest reputation. It's a club that wins; it's a club that wants to win everything, every game, every tournament. I kind of knew what I was going in for," Nakic said.

He also said that a few familair faces already with the club, helped his adjustment.

"I was very excited and very happy when I got there. It was easy my first year because I had a lot friends there from my region: Dino [Radonic], Luka [Doncic], Domagoj [Proleta]. So they helped me a lot in my first year and I am very grateful for that."

Next up for Nakic is returning home to Belgrade with his new group of friends from Madrid to try to win an ANGT title.

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