Serbian player who lost kidney at World Cup last year helps national team qualify for EuroBasket

By TIM REYNOLDS The Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — The Serbian national team player who lost a kidney at last year’s Basketball World Cup is back on the floor with the club, and helped it clinch a spot in next year’s EuroBasket tournament on Sunday. Borisa Simanic — playing a home game in Belgrade with the national team for the first time since getting hurt in the Philippines last year — scored 12 points on Sunday in Serbia’s 98-51 win over Denmark. The win made Serbia the sixth team to secure a spot in the European championships, along with Lithuania and four host nations — Latvia, Finland, Cyprus and Poland. There are 18 spots remaining in the 24-team field.