Stefan Bircevic was part of the Serbian national team at the time when Aleksandar Djordjevic was the coach. The experienced basketball player recalled that period.
Stefan Bircevic was part of the generation that won three silvers at major competitions. He regularly responded to Aleksandar Djordjevic’s calls without any hesitation. In an interview with “Meridian Sport“, he recalled the first call he received:
“That feeling can’t replace anything, that feeling still lasts for me. It’s been a long time, but even now I can still remember the moment when I received the invitation. Everyone was in shock, my whole family was happy. My father has a tradition of preparing a roast pig in such situations. That’s how it was back then.“
The way in which Bircevic received an invitation to the Olympic Games is particularly interesting:
“I was on the extended list, but I dropped out. However, Bjelica was banned from playing by the NBA, and Macvan was injured the day before the meeting. Then a situation happened that I will never forget. I never said this. I was at home mowing the lawn. Around 12 o’clock, Nebojsa Ilic called me and asked where I was at the gathering.
I told him I wasn’t on the list, to which he replied that I was and to come to the reunion. He told me that Djordjevic needed me and that he should have called me the day before. Considering that he did not, he said that when I come to say how he informed me, but that I was on medical examinations. I immediately packed up and left.”
Bircevic won silver at the Olympic Games that summer. However, it was close to not being there:
“During the duel with Puerto Rico in the qualification for the Olympic Games, I suffered a concussion. The doctor examined me and said that I must rest for a few days. I said I could rest for two days, as long as we were free. I came to dinner in a daze and the coach told me he had to take me to Rio.”
That summer. continued to be incredible when it comes to power forward:
“My cousin gave me a virus that appears on my hands and feet, which appeared during my preparations on Kopaonik. I didn’t want to register anything, because I didn’t want to miss the competition. I asked the doctor for something against the fever. I trained for seven days with bloody feet, because such an opportunity is not to be missed” – said Stefan Bircevic.