Bojan Bogdanovic and Bogdan Bogdanovic, it appears, will be linked forever.
Both are eastern European swingman, Bojan a 6'8" Croatian; Bogdan, a 6'6" Serbian. Both make their money hitting shots. Bojan plays for the Nets; Bogdan was drafted by the Suns. They share the same agent. When Bojan was leaving Fenerbahce for Brooklyn last month, he waited until Fener signed Bogdan to take his place. They both wear No. 7 on their national teams. And when Bogdan was drafted at Barclays Center in June, ESPN showed video highlights of Bojan (no doubt an omen).
And no, they are not related. They're just legendary.
In the latest episode of The Bogdanovics, Bogdan and Serbia defeated Bojan and Croatia in France, in overtime Saturday, 84-83, as Bogdan was able to hit the big shot while Bojan was not.
With 2:07 left in overtime, Bojan hit a three to give Croatia a four-point lead. At that point, Bojan was 7-of-10 (5-of-6 from three). But in the last 1:11, he missed four shots, two of them three's. Bogdan, on the other hand, waited till the end. for his heroics. With six seconds left, he hit a three, giving him eight for the game. Croatia's coach Jasmin Repesa drew up a play that everyone in the building knew was ultimately headed for Big Shot Bojan. With two seconds left, he got the ball, faked out his defender and launched a three that, alas, hit off the rim. Game over.
Here's what it looked like...thanks, as always, to Alexander Chernyk of Rush'n Hoops and RusBasket.
After a rusty performance on Friday night, when he shot 2-of-10, Bojan Bogdanovic, the Net, had a solid game despite his late failings. He finished with 19 points in 33 minutes, hitting 7-of-14 overall and 5-of-8 from three. Bogdan had only eight. He too played 33 minutes.
Meanwhile, in Tecnopolis, Argentina, Team Mexico lost, 96-71, to Argentina. The loss came two days and one very long plane ride from Mexico City to Buenos Aires following Mexico's win in the FIBA CentroBasket tournament. Jorge Gutierrez played limited minutes and scored four points.