Bosnia fell at home to Russia last night in the Eurobasket 2017 qualifiers, but a post-game incident between Mirza Teletovic and Dzanan Musa is gaining as much attention to the Bosnians as the actual scoreboard.
HIGH VOLTAGE Between Musa-Teletovic ⚠⚠⚠⚠ pic.twitter.com/QoaKUkEPDo
— EuroBBallVideos (@EuroBBallVideos) September 11, 2016
The two players engaged in a short scuffling match during a dead ball after Musa flopped to draw a foul. Teletovic, the captain of the Bosnian squad, apologized for the incident in post-game comments.
“I am sorry I reacted in this way,” Teletovic said. “I am sorry and I don’t shrink from my responsibilities. Sometimes there are tensions like that in a team. I’ve spent my life representing the national team of Bosnia. I have been playing for 13 years for the team. I never behaved like that or provoked someone. I have always represented Bosnia in the best light. I wouldn’t want to present a wrong picture of myself.”
Throughout the game, Teletovic described that he attempted to calm down Musa, who was worked up and agitated by the score and his team’s performance. But Musa’s responses to Teletovic’s pleas to stay in the game frustrated the older captain.
“I don’t want to say who is to blame or whether someone is guilty,” Teletovic said. “We played our game for 38 minutes and then we lost. But at the end of the game we had an opportunity to get a result on seven or eight possessions. This is men’s basketball on a senior level. You have to try and calm your passions, you have to try to win. I said to Dzanan that everything is OK, urged him to calm down and told him that we’ve got some time to win the match. I am the captain of the national team and I’ve been here for 13 years. And he, the youngest player in the squad, begins cursing me and insulting me. It is simply impossible to continue after such an incident. But I am sorry I reacted the way I did. All I want to say is that such kind of things will never happen again, ever.”
But Bosnian head coach Damir Mulaomerovic didn’t see it the same way. He placed the entirety of the blame on Teletovic due to his position as an older leader on the team.
“What happened was unacceptable,” Mulaomerovic said. “Even moreso because Teletovic is team captain. His behavior against Musa was inexcusable. I have already solved the problem.”
In a later press conference held today, Teletovic referred to Musa’s “internal struggles” as he discussed the incident further.
“I love Musa,” Teletovic said. “God willing, he will be the best basketball player that has ever come out of Bosnia.”
The 17-year-old forward is considered to be one of the best European players at his age, and he carries a heavy burden for the future of the sport in his home country.
“I also understand his struggles,” Teletovic said. “There is a lot of pressure on him by the media and he finds it difficult to manage defeats. It’s not easy when you are 17-year old and trying to fight in such a game. In regards to my behavior, I made a mistake and I admit it.”
(H/T to Eurohoops.net)
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