Young Serbian basketball player is the world champion, he has three college diplomas, and he did another wonder when he was 10 years old (PHOTO) (VIDEO)

"People ask me if I see hoops as my second chance because I haven't done everything I expected in basketball. I don't look at the things that way, I like everything that happened to me so far, there were good and bad decisions, but I came where I am now"

Stefan Stojanic (28) is one of the incredible boys who brought the fourth title of the World Champion to Serbia recently. Besides that, this man has three college degree, he plays piano in his spare time, and at the age of 10, he was the third best chess player of Europe in his competition. He is employed and he is a graduated mechatronic. 

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Besides being one of the best basketball players in the world, Stefan was a Junior World Champion in basketball with the Serbian national team in 2007, and he is a double junior European champion. He played for Mega Visura, Red Star, Radnicki, and Vojvodina Srbijagas, after which he made three years long break from basketball. He played the season 2016/17 for Vojvodina and he helped them enter the highest rank of the domestic basketball and he was named the MVP of the league that season.

Stojacic, together with Stefan Kojic, Mihailo Vasic, Aleksandar Ratkovic and Marko Brankovic, creates the team "Liman", with which he dominates the world scene, together with "Novi Sad - Al Wahda". He was named the MVP of FIBA 3x3 tour.

- Honestly, I think that all of that diversity that goes with me, as fascinating as it seems, is actually the main problem and it carries a lot of negative things. In my first cycle of playing basketball, up to when I was 23 years old, I fell down psychically and I decided to spread myself to as many sides as possible. Perhaps I started playing basketball professionally too soon. When I was 15 I played for the senior league, and with 23 I had 8 senior leagues behind me. I was with the national team every summer and that was probably too much - Stojacic said for 021.rs, but he adds that he wouldn't like to change the things he has been through.

While he was playing basketball, Stefan was studying at the same time. He completed his studies of finance and banking at Sindgidunum University, and alongside side that, the Faculty of Law and Academy of Economics. Having put his basketball career aside, Stojacic entered what he wanted - the Novi Sad Faculty of Technical Sciences.

- I like to say that this is actually my first faculty, that was always my desire. I made a decision to enter FTN and I think that it was one of the best decisions in my life. Everything I have done before that I left behind, I turned a new page and I started studying what I like, actually, what I like doing in my life - Stefan said.

This man from Novi Sad is one of those athletes who doesn't look at the sport that is only competing lasting one hour or 90 minutes. He looks at the entire picture, which probably contributed to making his life decisions which were strange for his environment. It is evident that he makes a difference between sports and show-business because he thinks that where there is strict business, there is no room for emotions.

- Basically, that is the case, maybe not in the eyes of us, players, but it is in the eyes of those who watch us. Sports and marketing are, when we look from the perspective of those who watch us, the same thing. Those arguments between players and managers occur because of the question, can he make a profit out of you or no. All other emotions you expect for you are really fine, but, if we look at the things a bit more strictly, a manager has his job and he has to do it no matter the emotions - Stojacic said.

Although he put aside professional sports at one moment of his life, Stefan, who comes from sports family didn't have intentions to abandon the ball and hoops forever, outside of large arenas, crowds, fans that expect a lot, coach, managers, who rub their hands together on someone else's talent.

In that vacation from the world of harsh professionalism, Stojacic returned to the beginning, where everything started - basketball on concrete courts. A colleague from the colleague, now a team player in "Liman", Aleksandar Ratkov invited him to join in a tournament where they presented the faculty, and the first name of the youngest FIBA 3x3 team was actually "Faculty of Technical sciences".

- Hoops is really my love, I started playing before I started basketball. During the years I realized that I liked 3x3 the most. Dusan Bulut says that hoops is a rebellion, there is no authority, no coach, I like that. Perhaps hoops is a rebellion against control, you create your own game and I like that. People ask me if I see hoops as my second chance because I haven't done everything I expected in basketball. I don't look at the things that way, I like everything that happened to me so far, there were good and bad decisions, but I came where I am now. I wouldn't change it, because now I have a desire to give my best in 3x3 - this young basketball player said for 021.rs.

A last year's finals in Debrecen is considered to be one of the best games in the history of this sport, and it was played between "Liman" and "Novi Sad - Al Wahda", FIBA 3x3. The title went to "Liman", and it turned out that the two best teams in the world came from this city suburb.

Stojacic thinks that hoops and basketball are two different sports because the tactical and physical preparations are different. Since he played basketball in the halls, and on the fields where Ballet school is being built in Liman three, this player saw that someone who played could have an advantage in hoops, that that doesn't make much of a difference.

Basketball Association of Serbia made a decision for the national team to be best-ranked players on FIBA 3x3 list. That lead to Stojacic joining Bulut, Majstorovic, and Savic on a championship in Manila. Although they are the greatest rivals on the court, they left their rivalry behind for some other occasion, and they brought great joy to Serbia.

- Everybody was skeptical of how is that going to work, but we left rivalry aside. We have a mutual respect towards each other and that resulted in a great play, we didn't have time to practice, but we know each other well enough and I think that we can play a lot better. When you will a World Championship and you think that you can do a lot better, than it is really great - he concluded.

Heating up of the Liman rivalry, which grew into world rivalry, will continue, but the players from Novi Sad are united to win the gold for Serbia on the Olympiad in Tokyo in 2020. The national team needs to qualify for the tournament, and Stojacic said that each player will give his maximum.

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(Telegraf.co.uk / 021.rs-Zoran Strika/Jovan Stojanović)