Borislav ‘Boka’ Djordjic may be a newcomer to local basketball. But the 6ft 8in forward is no stranger to the sport.
Boka, 28, hails from Serbia and is a former professional basketball player abroad. He travelled across the Eastern Hemisphere before landing in Cayman last year. The North Side resident, who works at the Reef resort as a bartender, spoke about his basketball travels.
“I grew up close to the capital (of Serbia), near the Bosnian border,” Djordjic said. “I played division one basketball for four years at Stetson University and played seven years professionally. I made my living on that. I’ve been all over Europe, Asia and the Middle East. I played for 15 teams. Depending on my agent I’d sometimes spend just two months with a team. I played in Sweden for my last stop.”
Indeed Djordjic’s basketball career stretches back 11 years. His first commitment was to Serbian club team Srem Sremska Mitrovica in the 2000-2001 season before making stints in Sweden, France and Cyprus. His last team was the Sodertalje Kings of the Sweden Basketball League (called the Ligan), where he averaged 11.3 points and 7.1 rebounds in 34 games.
Now Djordjic takes centre stage as local basketball looks to crown a champion between either his Dominos Warriors or the reigning title-holders the Wolves. Game one is this Thursday 2 June at 6pm at the Arts and Recreation Centre. Both clubs are coming off convincing division one semi-final sweeps of the Tarheels and team Philippines in the Cayman Islands Basketball Association national men’s league playoffs. Djordjic states the series boils down to tenacity.
“I couldn’t see us facing no one else. Who wins? I don’t know. They have good players like Dwight O’Garro, who is their best guy and a very good athlete. He is also doing good things off the court. Their point guard (Vanrick) Felix is very good. We’ll give our best and I like the challenge. The difference will be heart as it comes down to who has the most heart.
“It’s not going to be easy. For us the most important thing is side players. I’ll do my best, Collin (Anglin) will play well but we need our other guys. For example Antonio (Thompson) has to step up. He does a lot of winning plays for us. By the way things like hustling for loose balls, those have to be ours in order to win.”
Aside from sporting tropical weather and being an island, Cayman differs from Serbia in regards to its basketball culture. Serbia is a powerhouse in Europe with multiple International Basketball Federation World Championships. The country also has players making millions in the National Basketball Association like Predrag ‘Peja’ Stojakovic (who is playing in the Finals for the Dallas Mavericks).
Djordjic, who plays for free like other Cayman players, states he is not bothered by the difference.
“There’s lots of potential here. Basketball is not on the level it should be because it needs more support. Cayman needs more overall help because the talent is here.”
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