Borisa Simanic, who lost his kidney, helps Serbia at EuroBasket News_ad

Serbia’s Borisa Simanic during the Fiba World Cup in Manila.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MIAMI – The Serbian international who lost a kidney at last year’s Fiba Basketball World Cup is back on the club’s floor, helping it secure a spot in next year’s EuroBasket tournament on Sunday.

Borisa Simanic, playing a home game in Belgrade with the national team for the first time since her injury in the Philippines last year, scored 12 points in Serbia’s 98-51 victory over Denmark on Sunday.

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With the win, Serbia became the sixth team to secure a place at the European Championships, alongside Lithuania and four host nations – Latvia, Finland, Cyprus and Poland. There are still 18 spots available in the 24-man field.

READ: Borisa Simanic returns to Serbia, hopes to play basketball again

Simanic lost a kidney as a result of an injury sustained in a Serbia match against South Sudan in Manila on August 30, 2023. He was fouled by a South Sudanese player in the final minutes and hit an elbow to the left side of his midsection. Shortly after the incident, he began losing blood and had to undergo surgery, and after further complications were discovered, his kidney was removed in a second operation in early September.

“I’m very happy to see him back,” said Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic, a Serbia international and a likely candidate to play in next summer’s EuroBasket. “He’s someone I grew up watching and then I actually had the opportunity to play with him at home. We are more like a family. Seeing what happened to him at that World Cup was really tough.”

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Simanic picked up three points in another qualifying win in Denmark last week. Sunday’s game was his first game in Serbia for the national team since his injury.

READ: Borisa Simanic recovering from injury inspires Serbia to reach semi-finals

“When the injury happened, I didn’t expect to return so quickly,” Simanic told Fiba after the first game against Denmark. “In fact, I didn’t even know if I would even come back.”

Jovic trained with Simanic over the summer and said he never doubted his national teammate would return. Simanic also played professionally in the Adriatic League this season.

“I’m so happy to see him again,” said Jovic. “I think it’s a hell of a journey, a hell of a story. I don’t think many people can do what he did.”