Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade rosters breakdown - Group B
Adidas NextGen EuroLeague's final stop should be a fun show as three ex champs (Zvezda, INSEP, Joventut) will battle for supremacy along with Milan. Here is a breakdown of the rosters in Group B.
Don’t look now but the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague tour is back and ready to give us all more great basketball memories with the fourth and final qualifier - NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade. The final direct ticket for the NextGen Finals is up for grabs and the field in the Serbian field is stacked with three former continental champions - Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, Pole France INSEP Paris and Joventut Badalona - while EA7 Emporio Armani Milan will be a fierce competitor, not to forget the ever uber-talented Next Gen selection team. The action will take place at the famed Aleksandar Nikolic Hall from March 7-9 with all sights set on taking first place and reaching the NextGen Finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Abu Dhabi from May 22-25.
This piece is a breakdown of the four teams in Group B - looking at INSEP, NGT Belgrade, debutant Trento and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. Group A has Zvzeda, Joventut, Milan and Maccabi.
Despite three NextGen tournaments having been played, only Mega MIS Belgrade and FC Barcelona have locked up tickets for the Finals for taking first place at NextGen Istanbul and NextGen Ulm, respectively. Next Gen Team Munich won the event in Munich in mid-January but will not be playing at the Finals.
Group B
Dolomiti Energia Trento
Trento will be making their NextGen EuroLeague debut and the club is making a push at the youth level. They lost to Brescia in the Quarter-Finals of the U20 Italian Next Gen Cup this year and have five players - Nicola Dorigotti, Cesare Placinschi, Tobia Triggiani, Vittorio Triggiani and Diego Zanella - on the team in Belgrade who lost in the U15 Italian final to Milan in 2022. There will only be two players on the Trento team with previous NextGen EuroLeague experience and one of them is an invited player. Trento are still looking for their first Italian youth title, losing in the U18 final in 2017 as well. But they have more and more higher level young players.
Patrick Hassan will be playing his second NextGen tournament he picked up 3.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals playing for Bassano in Patras 2023. October 14, 2024 was a big day for the guard when he made his BKT EuroCup debut, playing 6:47 minutes agaisnt Bahcesehir College Istanbul on the road. Hassan also has made history with Italy’s youth national team ranks. He helped the country to the silver medal at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds. Last summer he contributed 5.1 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals as Italy shocked the globe in taking second place at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Hassan was born in Rome to a Cuban mother and father from Somalia. Hassan helped Trento reach the Quarter-Finals of the U20 Next Gen Cup, averaging 21.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.8 rebounds. He is scoring 20.4 points per game in the Italian U19 league. He grew up with Basket Roma youth teams and joined Orange1 Bassano in 2022 and after two years there signed a long-term deal with Trento. Hassan helped Bassano win the 2024 Italian U17 title.
Prince Lumena is the only other player with past NextGen EuroLeague experience with 9.0 points and 8.0 rebounds at the 2023 Zadar tournament with Stella Azzurra. Lumena, who comes from Democratic Republic of Congo, was part of the Stella Azzurra U19 Italian title in 2023 and is on loan from the club for the event in Belgrade. He is averaging 8.2 points and 6.6 rebounds in the U19 league.
Cesare Placinschi was included in Trento’s roster for the Serie A game against Cremona on January 5 but did not get into the contest - though he made his Italian top flight debut last season in May against Virtus Bologna. Placinschi, who has Romanian roots as well, averaged 4.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in the Next Gen Cup and is scoring 10.1 points in the U19 Italian league. Placinschi has however appeared in two EuroCup games this season. He also was part of the Italian national team camps for the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 - though he did not make either team, both of which went on to take second place. And he was on the Trento team that lost to Milan in the U15 Italian final in 2022.
Mario Machetti already made EuroCup history on January 14 when he was subbed into the game against ratiopharm ulm with 74 seconds to play to become the third-youngest player in EuroCup history at the age of 15 years, 9 months and 1 day. The only two players who were younger were Stefan Petkovic of Benetton Freibourg (15y 0m 10d on December 4, 2007) and Nikolaos Vasileiou of Promitheas Patras (15y 6m 4d on November 4, 2020). The fourth youngest was some guy named Victor Wembanyama, who was 15 years 9 months and 25 days when he played for Nanterre 92 on October 29, 2019. Machetti averaged 10.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the U20 Next Gen Cup and in the Italian U19 league, and he is averaging 12.9 points. Machetti hails from the former basketball hotbed Siena in the middle of Italy and moved to the northern part of the country in 2024. Machetti, who grew up playing at Valdelsa Basket until he was 14, only recently had gotten his scooter license and earlier in the day of the EuroCup day was doing his algebra homework for high school.
The Trento team also features a pair of brothers who like Machetti also made their EuroCup debut against Ulm in January. Tobia Triggiani averaged 5.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in the Next Gen Cup and is scoring 5.4 points in the U19 league. And he also made debut in Seria A against Varese on February 9
Vittorio Triggiani is the younger, 2008-born brother who averaged 3.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in three Italian NextGen games. Vittorio also made his EuroCup debut against Ulm, though he has not yet played in the Serie A. He is not playing in the Italian U19 league.
The 2008-born Senegalese guard Cheickh Niang collected 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in the Italian Next Gen Cup. Niang, who arrived in Trento from Vis 2008 Ferrara in 2023, is scoring 9.3 points in the U19 domestic league.
In addition to Lumena, Valentin Curbelo is also an invited player from Stella Azzurra. The Uruguay native is averaging 6.5 points per game in the Italian U19 league. He has been with the Italian academy since 2021 and he helped the club win the U17 Italian cup in 2023. He played for Uruguay at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2023 and averaged 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks. Curbelo missed a free throw with 0.9 seconds left in the final group game in a 77-76 loss to Dominican Republic. Uruguay ended up finishing last in the group, which resulted in a 123-45 loss to United States in the Quarter-Finals. A victory over the Dominicans would have given Uruguay a better chance against Argentina in the quarters to make history by reaching the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup for the first time.
Nicola Dorigotti will be making his debut in the competion and averaged 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in Italian U20 Next Gen Cup. He is contributing 6.8 points in the U19 Italian league.
Mattia Claps is a role player who had 1.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in Italian Next Gen Cup and came to Trento from Maia Merano. He has 3.3 points per game in the U19 Italian league.
Diego Zanella played a combined 32 minutes in 6 Italian Next Gen Cup games and has 0.7 points per game in the U19 league.
Trento will have a monster presence in the paint as Oumar Fall stands 2.19 meters. The Senegalese giant, who came from Vis 2008 Ferrara, contributed 4.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in the Next Gen Cup, and he is averaging 6.5 points in the U19 league.
Pole France INSEP Paris
There will be a new era starting in Belgrade for INSEP as the two-time NextGen EuroLeague champions have a new coach. Francois Peronnet will be taking over from Lamine Kebe, who after eight years at the helm of France’s leading academy moved to Orleans in the French ProB second division. Peronnet last coached in 2021 after leading SLUC Nancy from 2019-21. INSEP will have six players back from last year’s NextGen Championship Game, which Real Madrid won 85-84 in overtime as one of the great games in NextGen EuroLeague history. Hugo Yimga Moukouri, Yannis Allard, Nathan Soliman, Cameron Houindo, Noa Kouakou-Heugue and Meissa Faye were all part of the team in Berlin. The team is a mix of 2007 and 2008 generations with five players who suffered a major disappointment last summer by finishing ninth at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and seven players who helped France to win the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 title.
Hugo Yimga Moukouri will be playing in his third NextGen season and is still a year younger as a 2008-born forward. Yimga averaged 14.5 points at both the Paris tournament and the NextGen Finals. He also had 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in Paris and chipped in 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in the Finals. This season, the Nanterre native has averaged 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in the third division. Moukouri helped France take third place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 14.0 points and 5.4 rebounds and then he was part of the massively disappointing French team that crashed to ninth place at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 with 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds. Moukouri joined INSEP a year early in 2022 and he admitted in an interview with Tribune47 that he could imagine returning home to Nanterre if it’s the quickest way to reach the pros.
This will also be the third NextGen season for Yannis Allard, who averaged 10.8 points and 2.5 assists in Paris but then struggled shooting at the Finals and only had 2.5 points and 2.2 rebounds. The shooting guard is tallying 10.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the NM1. Allard won two FIBA U16 EuroBasket bronze medals - 2022 and 2023 (9.4ppg 2.1apg) - and then was part of the disappointing ninth-placed finish at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 with 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals. He started playing basketball at age 7 and went through the Nanterre youth ranks before joining INSEP in 2021.
Cameron Houindo is expected to be a much bigger leader this season - his second in the competition. He averaged 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds at the Finals in Berlin. This season in the NM1 the big man is averaging 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds. Last summer he played in two national team events, picking up 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and then winning MVP in helping France take the title at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.3 blocks.
Noa Kouakou-Hegue will be playing his second NextGen campaign as well as he averaged 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in the eight games last season. He has been one of the leaders for the NM1 side with 9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists. The forward was another member of the U16 France team in 2023 (2.3ppg 3.3rpg) that won bronze and the U17 team in 2024 (6.6ppg 3.4rpg) that disappointed in the U17 World Cup. His profile on Instagram features the phrase: “Hustler 69” and on one post he wrote: “Hustlers don’t stop , they keep going” and wrote: “Face Everything And Rise” on another.
Nathan Soliman did not disappoint in his NextGen debut last season as he tallied 10.2 points with 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals as a 2009-born player going up against guys three years older than him in Paris. At the NextGen Finals, he was limited to 8.2 points and 3.0 rebounds. This season he is collecting 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the third division. The last two summers Soliman played up two levels and helped France take third at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 (8.3ppg 4.9rpg 1.1bpg) and then had 7.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals in the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Soliman is the youngest player to ever attend the famed INSEP academy that has produced so many superstars - entering two years in advance. Soliman was born in Vichy and grew up in Reze, near Nantes, as the son of Williams Soliman, who played one season in the EuroLeague for Roane in 2007-08 after helping the club to the French League crown a season earlier. Soliman’s father also played for the French national team, competing at the FIBA EuroBasket 2009. Williams continues to play this season, dribbling the ball for Alerte Juvisy in France's fifth-tier at age 45. His mother Séverine played up to the women's second division. Nathan did not start with basketball under age 9, practicing instead swimming, tennis and handball. He also enjoys drawing, video games and reading.
Matthys Mahop will be making his NextGen debut. The swingman is contributing 2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the NM1, including picking up 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists against Angers in mid December. Mahop, who stands 6’5 with a 7-foot wingspan, was a strong contibutor to France winning the title at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 5.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. As captain, his best game came in the Final as he tallied 10 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the win over Spain. Just like Yimga Moukouri, Mahop also used to play with Nanterre before joining INSEP in 2021.
Another debutant is Nateo Gabriel Des Bordes, who is collecting 6.0 points and 1.5 assists in the third division. He has three games in double figures scoring, topped by 18 points versus Rennes in which he drained 4 three-pointers. Des Bordes was also part of the France gold medal winning team at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 4.6 points and 1.4 assists. Des Bordes came to INSEP from Marseille in 2023. He contribute two key three-pointers in helping INSEP come back to beat Metropolitans in the French U18 Semi-Finals last season.
Yael Masdieu-Reynaert will be playing his first NextGen tournament and the guard is averaging 5.5 points and 3.2 assists in the NM1, including a double-double of 13 points and 11 assists against Tours in mid January. Masdieu-Reynaert was also on the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 winning team with 3.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.1 steals. Masdieu-Reynaert arrived at INSEP in 2023 after coming up in the Limoges CSP system. His older brother Noam Masdieu-Reynaert, born in 2005, has made his debut with Limoges’ senior team this season and averages 19.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals in the French U21 league.
Messi Yangala is a 2009-born prospect who joined INSEP this off-season after playing with Orleans Loiret Basket in the U15 level for two seasons, averaging 19.7 points in 2023-24. Yangala has only appeared in one NM1 game, scoring 9 points in 13 minutes against Angers in mid-December. He was named the French federation FFBB’s cadet of the month for November. Last summer he played for France’s U15 national team.
The 2008-born Mehdi Chaouad will be making his NextGen debut. He has appeared in three third division games, compiling 3 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 21 minutes. He played a strong role in France’s FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 championship team with 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists including 11 points and 3 rebounds in the Final. Chaouad came to INSEP from the SPO Basket Basket youth ranks in 2023. He was named as the French federation FFBB’s Player of the Month for December 2024.
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The 2009-born Brandon Muela has appeared in one NM1 game with 1 point in 2 mintues versus Angers in mid-December. Last summer he played for France’s U15 national team after which he joined INSEP from Saint Charles Charenton Saint Maurice.
Meissa Faye collected 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds over the course of the two tournaments last season. For INSEP in the NM1 this year the forward is tallying 7.5 points and 2.8 rebounds, including hitting 4 three-pointers and scoring 25 points against Angers in early October. He also has Senegalese heritage.
Achille Junior Elouma will be making his debut in the competition. He is contributing 3.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in the third division. Elouma was a key part in France’s championship winning team at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 6.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals. Elouma arrived at INSEP from Touraine BC in 2023.
Elie Ntowoa Ndenga appeared in two games in Paris and compiled 2 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 16 total minutes. He is chipping in 1.9 points and 1.5 rebounds in the NM1.
Big man Keny Vado is making his debut and he is picking up 2.7 points and 1.1 rebounds in the NM1. Vado contributed 1.7 points and 2.6 rebounds for the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 winning team. He was named as the French federation FFBB’s player of the month for October. Vado started playing basketball in 2021 and hails from Baie-Mahault in Guadeloupe and arrived at INSEP in 2023. He played for France’s U15 national team last summer.
Yanis Pierrot is a 2009-born guard who has not yet played in the NM1. Like Vado, Pierrort also comes from Guadeloupe, hailing from Les Abymes. (NOTE - in those highlights - check out the big man at the 0:55 second mark).
Next Gen Team Belgrade
The Next Gen Team Belgrade will be coached by two-time EuroLeague champion Dogus Balbay. He will be hoping to lead the team to a third first place finish for the select team at a NextGen tournament following Paris 2024 and Munich last November.
One of the top leaders - and most anxiously-awaited players - will be Aaron Towo-Nansi. It will be the second NextGen campaign for the 2009-born French point guard from Cholet, with whom he averaged 8.5 points, 1.2 rebounds 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals in Podgorica 2024. Towo-Nansi hails from Rennes, which is located in northwest France and serves as the capital of the Brittany region. The youngster of France, Cameroon and Cambodia heritage started playing basketball when he was just 4 years old. His father played the game as does his sister. He chose Cholet for its proximity to Rennes - about a two-hour drive away - but also because of the past success of Cholet’s youth development program with its academy. Last season in Podgorica, according to the Draft Express database, Towo-Nansi at age 14 years 10 months and 22 days became the sixth youngest player in NextGen EuroLeague history since 2013. The only players younger than Towo-Nansi were Marco Pecarski (14 years 9 days), Amadou Traore (14y 11d), Jose Roberto (14y 104d), Killian Malwaya (14y 145d) and Lazar Nikolic (14y 186d). This season, Towo-Nansi is dominating in the U21 league with 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals - and he will only turn 16 the day after the tournament in Belgrade. Towo-Nansi scored 21 points against ASVEL in the U17 French Cup final at the Accor Arena. His father played basketball until last year in the National 3 at US Liffre. His older is playing in the N3 with Prenational and his sister played up to N1 in Cherbourg. Aaron said his goal this summer is to play at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2025. In an interview with BeBasket, Towo-Nansi said he is an absolute basketball lover. “I watch a lot of EuroLeague. I can spend evenings doing nothing but that. Most of my evenings, I watch basketball. I also watch a lot of my games to be able to know what I did well, to know what I did wrong. But I consume a lot of basketball, I wake up basketball, all day long I'm in basketball, even at school I think about it a lot. And in the evening after training too, still basketball. In the end, basketball haunts my days.”
Akram Naji is yet another in the long line of 2007-born standout point guards for France - and one of the few who has yet to play in the NextGen competition. Naji has already become a regular in the French ProA first division with Chalon/Saone with 3.1 points in 7 minutes over 10 games - topped by scoring 12 points in 16 minutes against EuroLeague side Monaco. He also dominates the U21 league with 14.0 points per game to go with 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Naji was a force at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 when France took third place and he averaged 15.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals. That earned him a spot in the All-Star Five of the event. He had a different role at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 where the French crashed to 9th place and Naji had 7.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals. Naji, who was born in Noisy-le-Grand, Seine-Saint-Denis in eastern Paris, has Algerian and Moroccan heritage and joined Elan Chalon in 2022. He signed with Chalon in 2024 until 2026.
It’s great to see that Adidas once again chose Daniil Stolbetskiy for the select team. The big Russian was on the Next Gen team for Istanbul but could not play due to an injury. In fact, due to a variety of reasons, Stolbetskiy has always been unable to play the NextGen tournament and will be making his debut despite joining Real Madrid in 2022. Stolbetskiy, who has this season moved to Fuenlabrada on a multi-year deal, started playing in Moscow at age 7, first with Gloria then SSHOR CSKA. He won a Russian championship with CSKA 2007 and also is a Spanish U16 champ with Real. This season, Stolbetskiy has been averaging 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the Spanish fourth division - missing two months between late November to late January.
Argentina big man Ivan Prato played last season for the Podgorica select team and chipped in 2.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 blocks. Prato is playing for Varese and he really had a monster tourament in the Italian Next Gen Cup, including 22 points and 21 rebounds against Pistoia in early January. Prato helped Argentina grab second place in the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2023 with 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds. He went against the best across the globe at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 with 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds. He also played at the 2025 Basketball Without Borders Global camp.
Federico Bottelli will be playing in the competition for the first time. He is playing with Varese and averaged 10.1 points and 2.9 assists in the Italian U20 NextGen league. The guard collected 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds for Italy at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024. The name Bottelli has a massive legacy at the Varese club. Grandfather Giancarlo Bottelli has been active in the club for some 25 years; uncle Andrea Bottelli - known to all as Jack - played in the Serie A; and Federico’s brother Edoardo Bottelli is a 2005-born player who plays in the third division in Italy with Luiss Roma. Federico was about 4 or 5 when his grandfather brought him to Varese for the first time. Federico had a brief spell where he thought about quitting basketball and had a trial with Varese’s football team. But he picked up the orange ball again and was back in love. And sometimes his teammates will call him “Bottellino” - which he likes beccause it means he’s carrying on the family tradition.
Bartosz Lazarski has already become part of the rotation for Anwil Wroclawek in the Polish first division with 1.8 points in 8 minutes. He picked up 1.8 points and 1.2 assists in 8 minutes per game among 12 contests in the FIBA Europe Cup - the third season he has played in the pan-European competition. Lazarski had a strong performance at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Last summer he collected 4.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024. Lazarski, a native of Wroclawek, is the youngest basketball player to ever sign a contract to play for Anwil. And he is the youngest player in Anwil history to score points in the Ekstraklasa at only 15 years and 67 days old
Bruno Randuska is a 2008-born Slovakian point guard who is already a serious leader with NextGen in the Slovakian first division, collecting 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the youth team that is 0-28 in the Slovakian first division this season. Randuska, who is under contract with Inter Bratislava, played the last two summers at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B, averaging 15.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals last year. He won the Slovak junior championship in 2024. Randuska is the younger brother of Daniel Randuska, who played for Inter Bratislava and played for Slovakia at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2019, Division B.
Another French player on the team is Sacha Defoundoux, who was born on December 26, 2008. He is with Blois and in late January made his ProB second division debut. At 16 years and 27 days, Defoundoux became the youngest player in the club's history to score his first points in Ligue Nationale de Basket. He is averaging 7.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in the U21 second division. Defoundoux is the second player taken for a Next Gen team from ADA Blois after Halvine Dzellat-Diakeno in Ljubljana 2022.
Borna Katanovic will be playing for the select team for the second time after picking up 7.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in Podgorica. The Cibona Zagreb small forward has already played a key role in his club’s pro team with 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in the first division as well as 3.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in the ABA league. Katanovic’s one experience with the Croatian national team was helping the country win promotion as they took first place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, Division B. He was named MVP as the third leading scorer with 18.1 points to go with 4.6 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 steals. Katanovic arrived in Cibona from Radnik Krizevci in 2023.
The Italian Thomas Acunzo will be playing his first NextGen tournament and plays for Napoli, after playing last season with Trento. Last summer he starred for Italy at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 7.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks - leading the competition in rebounds and blocks.
The 2008-born Montenegrin Djordje Gulic plays for Teodo in the Montenegro second division Prva B, averaging 15.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks.
The Estonian power forward Kaur Tomann is playing for Stella Azzurra in Italy, signing with the Italian academy in April 2023. Last summer he averaged 15.7 points and 6.0 rebounds at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024, Division B. Tomann started playing the game seriously at age 8 and grew up in the SC Audentes and Paide Viking youth systems. While growing up, he also practiced judo for two years. He said he played a lot of 3x3 tournaments starting at age 13.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Partizan is playing in the competition for a 17th season and 16th in a row. The Belgrade club took third place in 2024 and actually won the Belgrade qualifier in 2020. The Black and Whites missed their opportunity to make their NextGen Finals debut though as the event was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
This will be the third season for Djordje Sekularac, who has averaged 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 8 games in two years. In the Serbian U19 league, the guard is averaging 15.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Sekularac buried 5 three-pointers in scoring 27 poitns against Konstantin. Sekularac collected 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023. Sekularac made his Partizan senior team at the Korac Cup and scored a three-pointer at the buzzer against Vojvodina. His father is Mladen Sekularac, a former top professional and a coach for a short period, and his grandfather is Rajko Toroman, who has coached the national teams of Philippines, Jordan and Iran. Djordje played with BKK Radnicki before coming to Partizan. It’s unclear if Sekularac will be able to compete as he suffered an injury shortly before the tournament.
Uros Danilovic was one of the top role players on last season’s team with 6.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. Danilovic has shown in the U19 Serbian league that he can really light it up, averaging 13.9 points to go along with 2.8 assists. He has scored 20+ points five times including 27 points against BKK Radnicki. Danilovic is shooting 45 percent on three-pointers this season. He averaged 15.3 points in the U19 ABA League.
Romanian guard Luca-Ionut Illes is also in his third competition and has tallied 2.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 8 games over the two years. He is contributing 8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the Serbian U19 league. Illes came to Partizan in 2022 from Romania, for whom he played twice at the U16 level including averaging 8.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B. Illes in January signed a deal to be loaned to Mega Belgrade until the end of the season, meaning he can play for Mega at the NextGen Finals.
Daris Sijaric is appearing in his second NextGen after picking up 4.5 poitns and 3.0 rebounds last season. This year in the Serbian U19 league the big man is averaging 9.3 points and 4.1 rebounds In three U19 ABA league games, Sijaric had 10.3 points and 9.0 rebounds. At the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, the big man averaged 7.3 points and 6.9 rebounds.
Another debutant, Lukas Bojovic has averaged 4.0 points and 1.6 assists in the Serbian U19 league. But he is pouring in 19.3 points with 4.0 assists in the Serbian U17 league, including 31 points against Zemun. Bojovic played a strong role for Slovenia last summer with 8.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.7 steals at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024.
Stefan Isailovic compiled 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in 16 minutes over three games last season. He is one of the leaders in the Serbian U19 league with 9.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists including 27 points and 7 assists against Konstantin.
Uros Mijailovic will be making his debut and he is contributing 3.5 points in the U19 Serbian league as well as 12.3 points in the U17 league.
Zivko Mirkovic has scored 6.3 points in the Serbian U19 league while averaging 14.4 points and 3.1 assists in the U17 league, including dropping 31 points on Cacak and 28 points and 7 assists against Mega Belgrade.
Danilo Glumicic has appeared in one Serbian U19 league game and he is scoring 10.7 points in the U17 league.
Aleksa Kojic has not played in the NextGen yet but he is a strong player in the Serbian U19 league with 8.3 points. He also had 11.7 points in the ABA U19 league.
Matija Prelevic has picked up 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in the Serbian U19 league. He joined Partizan from Dynamic early this season.
Sibin Gujanicic averaged 1.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 12 minutes per game last season. He is a solid role player for the team this year with 7.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the Serbian U19 league.
Marko Jovanovic has scored 2.8 points in 6 minutes in four games in the Serbian U19 league. In the U17 league, he is scoring 7.7 points.
Igor Susa has appeared in three Serbian U19 league games and totaled 7 points in 18 minutes. Jusuf Karisik has yet to play in the U19 league but is scoring 8.5 points in the U17 league. The Slovenia averaged 9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024.
Lazar Stojanvoic is averaging 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds in the U19 Serbian league.
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