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      ACL injuries behind him, Aranitovic takes on a golden mission

      BELGRADE (FIBA U20 European Championship 2018) - Don't be surprised if Aleksandar Aranitovic gets a bit more emotional than usual when he hears the Serbian national anthem at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2018 - especially as he reflects on what he's gone through in the past 18 months.

      Let's rewind to January 2016. Aranitovic, with his bulldog physique and tough-as-nails game had already been playing in the Adriatic ABA league for four months with Mega Bemax Belgrade - despite not turning 18 until January 24.

      Aranitovic's 2015 summer included playing for Serbia at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup and the FIBA U18 European Championship, which followed him helping his country to a third-placed showing at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2014.

      He had advanced to being one of Serbia's next top prospects with a bright future.

      Forgive Sani - as he's more commonly known - if he has a hard time remembering those good times.

      On January 31, 2016 in an ABA game against Cedevita, Aranitovic landed wrongly and tore the ACL of his left knee. That meant about 10 months of rehab before he could get back onto the court.

      "The first time with a major injury and everything was new for me," Aranitovic recalled. "During my recovery, I spoke a lot with Dragan Milosavljevic and Davis Bertans, players who had the same injuries as me, and their experiences helped me a lot."

      All that guidance could not prepare him for November 2016. Just days before returning to game action, Aranitovic went down in practice with the same torn ACL to the same left knee.

      "The second injury was more mentally tough for me," Aranitovic admitted. "Because I knew how tough the way back was after the first injury and recovery. When the second happened I knew I needed to be mentally strong to come back stronger than ever."

      All the mental torment, physical stress and work finally paid off in October 2017 when he started the season with Partizan.

      "Oh man, I will never forget that moment. That was one of the most unforgettable moments in my life," said Aranitovic, who only turned 20 in January.

      The 6ft 5in (1.95m) guard lasted the whole season and put up solid numbers in the ABA (6.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals) and the Serbian league (3.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists ).

      "I owe a lot to Partizan because of their patience and huge support all this time - both my teammates and coaching staff," he said. "I'm very happy because I had a great season after the long break.

      Now it's time to pull on that Serbija jersey again in Chemnitz, where Serbia have been drawn into Group D with Iceland, Italy and Sweden.

      "I'm very excited because I didn't play the last two championships. So it will be more special for me for sure," he said.

      "Every time I play for the national team I am so proud and happy to be part of this and to meet all my basketball friends all around the world."

      The objective in Germany is clear - especially for a winner like Aranitovic: "The goal is the gold medal of course for me and my team."

      Aranitovic and his strong 1998-born generation will have some extra help this summer as well. Some of the leaders from the 1999-born generation will also likely make the team - the group that last summer guided Serbia to the FIBA U18 European Championship 2017 title.

      "For sure they can help a lot because they know how to win a championship," he said.

      For Aranitovic, just hearing the Serbian national anthem will be like a mini-championship.

      http://www.fiba.basketball/europe/u20/2018/news/acl-injuries-behind-him-aranitovic-takes-on-a-golden-mission

      DENI AVDIJA

      Born January 3, 2001, Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel

      Deni Avdija has already become a national icon in his Israel as he helped Israel win the FIBA U20 European Championship 2018 - the country's first gold medal in a FIBA event. He helped Israel defend the title in 2019 as well and also played for the Israeli senior national team. All the while he also made in-roads with Israeli legendary club Maccabi Tel Aviv's senior team. But Avdija also showed his dominance in the youth categories at the club level at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament. This article was written for the website of the 2019 ANGT Munich.