Serbia made sure to honor their injured teammate, Borisa Simanic, who was recently ruled out of the rest of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, by placing his jersey on the bench during their match against Italy on Friday.
Already ahead by 27 points in the fourth quarter, Serbia was well on its way to securing a sweep in the group phase when Simanic was inserted into the game with three and a half minutes remaining in their match against South Sudan last Wednesday.
The 25-year-old big man defended Nuni Omot, who had just grabbed an offensive rebound, inside the paint. Unfortunately, he was struck by Omot’s left elbow in the kidney area, which forced him out of the game with 1:50 remaining.
The Basketball Federation of Serbia later announced that Simanic was rushed to the nearest hospital after being subbed out and underwent surgery following an examination. Simanic had a successful operation but will miss the remainder of Serbia’s campaign in the tournament.
Omot immediately issued an apology to Simanic after South Sudan’s 87-88 win over the Philippines yesterday.
“I heard that he ended up going to the hospital. My apologies, I didn’t mean to make any type of dirty play. I hope you have a speedy recovery. I’ll pray for you, and you’ll be in my prayers,” said the Bright Stars’ skipper.
“I’m not a dirty player, I’ve never been a dirty player. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely apologize to everyone who’s watching and to the player, especially.”
On the other hand, Serbia suffered a narrow 78-76 loss against the Azzurri to open the second round.
