Iceland taught our cadets a lesson - and did it at home, in Skopje

Macedonia's men's cadet basketball team opened the European Championship B division with a defeat to Iceland, 75:87. The tournament is being played in Skopje and Gevgelija, so home floor, home crowd - and still a game in which our players did not perform to expectations. The number that explains everything: Iceland took 51 three-point shots and made 13. Fifty-one. That is not a one-off coincidence, that is a system of play the opponent executed unimpeded. Coach Dejan Stojanovski did not hide: „We failed to adapt in time to their style of play”. He also took responsibility for staying too long in a zone defence, but added that errors in the rotations left Iceland too many open shots. Honesty worth respecting - though you do not get a point for honesty.

Pelister and Kumanovo are building, while two women's teams lose their licence

While the men fill out their rosters, women's basketball gets news of a different kind. The Basketball Federation of Macedonia announced that WBC Kam Basket and Pro Basket Kavadarci will not receive a licence to compete in the women's First League. According to the federation, the clubs were notified in good time of the shortcomings in their documentation and were given a deadline to fix them, but the conditions were not met. On the same day Pelister signed youth international Bojan Dimitriev, and MBC Kumanovo extended the contract of Serbian guard Andreja Stevanovikj. So the capacity to build exists. The question is why in the women's league it is the administration deciding who plays, and not the court.

LeBron in Philadelphia - and it only took a few phone calls

Tyrese Maxey revealed how the 76ers landed the biggest signing of the summer. No mega-presentations, no months of persuasion: „It wasn't much convincing. A few phone calls, a few texts... We're friends,” he told a reporter from NBC Sports Philadelphia. The connection between them goes back to Maxey's college days, and LeBron James sees him as a younger brother. Together with the transfer of Jaylen Brown, this is a team expected to be the most watched in the 2026/27 season. When a star of that calibre relocates on a handful of texts, it says a lot about how much the NBA's „recruitment process” is actually agreed in advance.

Rajakovic on Serbia: „I left because they did not pay me eight of ten salaries”

Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic explained why he left Crvena zvezda in 2007: of ten monthly salaries in the contract, eight were never paid. He then spent two years without a team. „Nobody in Belgrade thought to come looking for me,” he said on the ALESTO podcast. His comparison is direct: in the US, he says, you are rewarded for your work, you do not have to sit in cafes maintaining connections in order to get a job and avoid being sacked. For the EuroLeague he has both praise and criticism - its crowds are its greatest strength, arenas full, interest high, but organisationally it has to grow. The Balkans know this story by heart, it is just usually told by somebody with nothing left to lose.

Shengelia paid for his own freedom, Barcelona collected over 3 million euros

Tornike Shengelia personally paid the buyout on his contract to leave Barcelona and move to Dubai, where he joins up with coach Xavi Pascual, who left the Catalan club the same way. Barcelona earned over 3 million euros from buyouts this summer, with Moses Wright bringing in part of the sum without ever pulling on the shirt - Olimpia Milano paid to release him from a contract signed earlier this year. Nikola Kusturica and Sayon Keita left for college basketball, and the club collected money from players already there too. Only Juani Marcos left without a fee. A club that loses players and still comes out in profit - that is a model the basketball boards at home might want to read up on.