Serbian player who lost kidney at 2023 World Cup helps national team qualify for EuroBasket
Borisa Simanic, who lost the organ after being elbowed, scored 12 points to help his team secure a spot in the 2025 European championships
The Serbian national team player who lost a kidney at last year’s Basketball World Cup is back on the floor with the club, and helped it clinch 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 getting hurt in the Philippines last year – scored 12 points on Sunday in Serbia’s 98-51 win over Denmark.
The win made Serbia the sixth team to secure a spot in the European championships, along with Lithuania and four host nations – Latvia, Finland, Cyprus and Poland. There are 18 spots remaining in the 24-team field.
Simanic lost a kidney as the result of an injury suffered in a game Serbia played against South Sudan in Manila on August 30, 2023. He was fouled by a South Sudan player in the final minutes, taking an elbow to the left side of his midsection.
He began losing blood not long after the incident, undergoing surgery and after further complications were detected, the kidney was removed in a second surgery in early September.
“I’m so happy to see him be back,” said Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic, a Serbian national teamer and likely candidate to play in EuroBasket next summer.
