Boban Marjanovic brought 23-year-old Angelo Kouame and 19-year-old Kai Sotto to the school of hard knocks, Thursday (Manila time) at the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall in Belgrade, Serbia.
Marjanovic played just 33 games in the last NBA season, with norms of 4.7 points and 3.9 rebounds in the regular season and 11.3 points and 8.0 boards in the playoffs. But the 7-foot-4 Serbian showed Gilas — and the Dominican Republic the other day — why he is an elite basketball player.
In the two games, he has been a picture of efficiency, norming 21.5 points per game on 63.3-percent shooting from the field along with 10.5 boards. He has also led the hosts to the semifinals of the 2021 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
And Kouame was able to experience his dominance first hand.
“It was super tough. That was a battle for me, especially for the other guys,” shared Kouame after Gilas’ 76-83 loss to Serbia.
“They really helped me a lot, especially to keep off the board.”
Marjanovic dominated the first half, scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field to help give his side a 45-34 lead at the break.
Though Gilas had a better outing in sealing the big man off in the third canto, Marjanovic showed his veteran wares in the endgame. He scored eight of the last 10 points of Serbia to fend off the upset-seeking Filipinos.
Photo from FIBA.basketball
“He is tall, he is long, he has a huge wingspan. Getting defensive rebounds and being able to keep him out of the paint was the biggest problem for me,” said Kouame, who himself had a good outing with 17 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.
“I think the outcome… It is what it is.”
Sotto also had 10 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two assists in the game.
Photo from FIBA.basketball
Both Kouame and Sotto are just making their fourth international appearance for the seniors’ team. But they will never forget this game as they grew by leaps and bounds in that 40-minute encounter.
“This is a great learning experience and I will learn from it. I try to picture it and get better for the next couple of players like him that I’m going to be against. So it is a great experience,” he said.
“Like coach said, he wants me to play inside and be a presence. We keep learning. It is a learning process. I enjoy it. I think two years from now, I will be on top.”
