Eurobasket 2017

Kyle Ramos

Though Serbia was missing key pieces for its national team entering EuroBasket 2017, Bogdan Bogdanovic stepped up in a big way to lead his country all the way to the finals of the biennial tournament.

The Serbian squad was ultimately defeated by Slovenia in the gold medal game, however, falling 93-85 in a matchup that was closely contested throughout. This resulted in a silver medal for Serbia - marking its highest finish in EuroBasket since winning silver back in 2009.

Bogdanovic led the way in the finale with 22 points, five assists, and four rebounds - capping off a remarkable run for Serbia and the Kings guard - who finished EuroBasket among the elite performers.

In his nine games played, Bogdanovic logged averages of 20.4 points, 5.0 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per contest.

With the excitement of EuroBasket 2017 now coming to a close, the focus will shift for one of Sacramento’s newest players as he will look forward to making his highly anticipated NBA debut as the 2017-18 season approaches.

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Bogdanovic Leads Serbia in Thrilling EuroBasket Finale

EuroBasket 2017 is nearing its conclusion as teams quickly head towards the championship game on September 17.

Two members of the Kings young core in Bogdan Bogdanovic and Georgios Papagiannis are representing their native nations in the competition and both helped their squads all the way to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Papagiannis and Greece fell just short in a close contest with Russia, defeated 74-69 on Wednesday. The Kings big man saw a somewhat limited role in his first time on the Greek’s senior national team and averaged 3.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and one block in 10.3 minutes per contest.

As for Bogdanovic, his Serbian team cruised to an 83-67 triumph over Italy behind a game-high 22 points from the Kings guard. The rookie also added four assists and six rebounds as he continues to turn in top-tier performances during EuroBasket 2017.

Serbia is now set to face off against Russia in the semifinals on Friday, September 15. The winner of this matchup will have the red-hot undefeated Slovenian team awaiting them in the championship contest, who took down a previously undefeated Spain team in the semifinals.

For more information on EuroBasket 2017, click here.

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Bogdanovic Primed for EuroBasket Semifinals

Both participants in EuroBasket 2017, Kings Bogdan Bogdanovic and Georgios Papagiannis will be moving up the ladder of the tournament after the duo each contributed to wins for their respective nations of Serbia and Greece.

This past Saturday, Papagiannis and Greece topped Lithuania 77-64. Papa G pitched in four points, four rebounds, and a block in the victory. The Greek team is vying for its first EuroBasket championship since 1987 and will be matching up with Russia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, September 13.

On Sunday, the Serbian team took down Hungary 86-78 behind 17 points and six assists from Bogdanovic, who also knocked down all three of his shots from beyond the arc. With the win, Serbia will now take on Italy in their quarterfinals encounter also on Wednesday.

Should both Papagiannis and Bogdanovic be victorious in the quarterfinals, these two Kings teammates will be going head-to-head in the semifinals of the tournament on Friday, September 15.

For more information on EuroBasket, click here.

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Papagiannis, Bogdanovic Advance to EuroBasket Quarterfinals

Though Bogdan Bogdanovic has already made a name for himself through his accomplishments in international play, the new Kings guard is joining a talented 2017 NBA rookie class that may have him flying under the radar heading into his first season in the League.

With several impressive recent showings in Eurobasket 2017, however, he may not be under the radar for long.

Bogdanovic’s turning of heads seems to have begun already as Kevin O’Connor, an NBA Staff Writer for The Ringer, recently tweeted about No. 8’s potential as a “dark horse” for the Rookie of the Year award.

Though he has yet to suit up in the NBA, Bogdanovic will be gearing up to open some eyes when he makes his NBA debut in just over a month for the purple and black.

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Bogdanovic Dark Horse Candidate for ROTY?

The excitement of Eurobasket 2017 continues as the biennial competition is now in full swing - featuring a plethora of top-tier talent including two of Sacramento’s own in Bogdan Bogdanovic and Georgios Papagiannis.

The tournament is progressing at a rapid pace as the teams march towards the ultimate goal of winning the championship on September 17. Currently in the group stage, Bogdanovic’s Serbian team and Papagiannis’ Greek team have already completed a combined seven games.

The Serbian sharpshooter has been a crucial factor for his home squad thus far - the Kings guard leads his squad in points per game (21) and is second in assists per contest (4.3) and second in steals per game (2).

On top of stuffing the stat sheet, No. 8 has come up clutch on multiple occasions. After hitting the dagger three-pointer in Serbia’s opening matchup with Latvia, the Serbian native poured in 10 points in the fourth quarter against Turkey to  seal a closely contested 80-74 victory.

The Kings rookie would finish the contest with 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists and follow that up with another impressive state line against Great Britain on Tuesday, where he logged 18 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and five steals en route to another victory.

Bogdanovic and his team will be off until Thursday, when they will be taking on Belgium in the final game of their group stage.

As for Papagiannis, he has been in a limited role during the first two games for Greece before seizing his next opportunity with a strong showing against Slovenia.

Papagiannis got the start and posted 10 points, three rebounds and three blocks in his 21 minutes of action - though Greece would ultimately fall to the undefeated Slovenia by a score of 78-72.

Greece is set to tip-off their fourth matchup of group play against Finland and will be looking to secure an important victory in their penultimate contest before the tournament portion of the contest commences on September 9.

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Bogdanovic Continues Clutch Play, Papagiannis Emerges in Eurobasket

On the heels of a championship run with Fenerbahce Istanbul in the Euroleague, Bogdan Bogdanovic continued his hot streak with a big-time performance in the opening contest of Eurobasket 2017.

Bogdanovic led his Serbian team to a 92-82 victory against Latvia - a squad that features a duo of NBA talent in Kristaps Porzingis and Davis Bertans.

The Kings guard poured in a game-high 30 points in the victory to go with four assists and three rebounds. His impressive game included a nasty crossover and three-pointer to beat the first quarter buzzer as well as the dagger from long range to seal the game for Serbia.

With a victory in the first game of group play, Bogdanovic and Serbia will look to continue their winning ways heading into the next matchup against Russia on Saturday, September 2.

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Bogdanovic Drops 30 in Eurobasket Opener

Prior to the beginning of the NBA season, international basketball standouts from all over the globe will be competing in the biennial Eurobasket tournament - including a couple of Kings in Bogdan Bogdanovic and Georgios Papagiannis.

The competition is already underway as Papagiannis and his Greek national team have claimed an early 90-61 victory over Iceland in the first game of the group phase.

Bogdanovic and his Serbian team, meanwhile, will get their first taste of action against Latvia on Friday, September 1 in Istanbul - the same city where the Kings guard recently won a championship for his Euroleague squad Fenerbahce Istanbul.

Though Sacramento’s two participants are in different groups for the early stages of Eurobasket (Papagiannis in Group A and Bogdanovic in Group D), there is potential to see these two collide in the later stages of the tournament.

For more information on upcoming Eurobasket games and how to watch, visit FIBA’s Eurobasket website.

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Pair of Kings Set for Eurobasket 2017 Competition

Leading up to Eurobasket 2017, preparation is fully underway for several participating countries. One of the notable means of getting teams ready is the annual Belgrade Trophy tournament.

Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, a member of the Serbian team heading into Eurobasket 2017, helped lead his squad to a win this past weekend to claim Serbia’s fifth consecutive Belgrade Trophy tournament.

Bogdanovic poured in 25 points in the 82-71 win against Montenegro, while also being named MVP of the tournament.

Greece, which was the only other nation besides Serbia and Montenegro partaking in the tournament, will also feature another member of Sacramento’s roster with center Georgios Papagiannis making his debut for his country’s senior national team.

Eurobasket 2017 is slated to begin on August 31 and will run through September 17. This year’s competition between top players from around the world will be an intriguing one to watch with the potential collision course of two current Kings teammates.