NEMANJA ĐORĐEVIĆ’S PATH TO BASKETBALL STARDOM BEGINS IN BELGRADE

BELGRADE, MARCH 2 /SRNA/ – If it weren’t for basketball, fifteen-year-old Nemanja Đorđević, who was born in Austria and moved to Denmark with his parents when he was only a few months old, would probably visit his relatives in Serbia no more than twice a year, and his ties to his homeland would gradually fade.

However, his love for the game played beneath two hoops has led him to live in Belgrade, strengthening that connection with each passing day. Nemanja, who is developing his talent at the First Sports Basketball High School – College Belgrade, told SRNA that he and his parents decided he would continue his education in Serbia’s capital for a simple reason: Serbia is a basketball country he loves, and he knows it is the right choice for him. "It’s certainly much better than in Denmark. I live in a dormitory, I study, and I’m focused on the game," says Nemanja, who plays the shooting guard position and hopes to one day play for Crvena Zvezda, the team he supports. "I’m here, and basketball is what I do. I miss my family a little, but my family is here too," Nemanja points out. In addition to the support he gets from afar from his parents and three sisters, the support of his relatives in Serbia, especially his grandfather, Predrag Dimitrijević, is very important to him. "Grandpa is always there for me," Nemanja says. His grandfather says he is happy that his grandson is now in Serbia so they share precious moments together. "He usually comes from Belgrade to visit us in Smederevo on weekends," says Dimitrijević, proudly welcoming and seeing off his grandson. He notes that Nemanja’s father, shortly after the boy was born, got a job at the company Lego in the Danish town of Billund, where the family has lived ever since. "Except for Nemanja, who has returned to us," his grandfather says with a smile. Celebrated Serbian basketball players such as Miloš Teodosić, Nemanja Bjelica, Miroslav Raduljica, Marko Kešelj, Milan Mačvan, and Marko Gudurić have passed through the school Nemanja now attends. At just over 15 years old, the boy from Billund has realized that the road to European and world basketball stardom begins in Serbia and he is ready to reach it.