Croatia hit Macedonia's cadets 112:57 in Gevgelija, and on home ground

At the 26 April hall in Gevgelija, at the Division B European Championship we are hosting ourselves, Croatia crushed Macedonia 112:57. The first quarter was normal - 21:15 to the Croats. Then everything collapsed: 46:33 at half-time, 56:35 after the third, and the final quarter turned into numbers nobody comments on. Dion Shabani had 16 points and 8 rebounds, Kotevski added 10. Coach Dejan Stojanovski called timeouts, but no timeout fixes a 55-point gap. The next match is against Switzerland - against an opponent in the same weight class.

Stojanovski after the drubbing: „The players left their hearts on the court”

The under-16 coach did not reach for an alibi. After the loss to Croatia he praised his players for their attitude and fight, and especially for the first half: „We had a good first half, the players left their hearts on the court.” That is true and it is not much. When a generation concedes a hundred at home, praise for heart is what a coach has left - but the question nobody asks is why the gap between us and Croatia at this age is so wide, and who at the basketball federation is working on it. Fight is not learned on a court where you concede 112 points; it is built years earlier.

The women's team beat Norway 67:41 - and that was the best news of the week

In Tulcea, Romania, at the Division B European Championship, Macedonia's junior women beat Norway 67:41 for their first win of the tournament. The match was settled in the first quarter - 26:6, and 40:11 at half-time. Iva Koleva finished with 16 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Before that they lost to Azerbaijan, and in their last group E match they went down to Estonia 64:76 and played for 17th to 20th place. A win by 26 points is a win - but when it comes in a match for nineteenth place, it says more about the state of things than about progress.

Don Nelson has died, the coach who changed the NBA without a single ring

Don Nelson died aged 86, his family confirmed. He has 1,335 wins across 31 seasons in the NBA, with Milwaukee, Golden State, New York and Dallas, was named coach of the year three times and has been in the Hall of Fame since 2012. He popularised small-ball and the „point forward" role, coached the Run TMC Warriors and later the team that knocked the top-seeded Mavericks out of the 2007 playoffs. He never won a title as a coach - though as a player he has five with the Celtics. If rings are the measure of influence, half the NBA today plays with the ideas of a man who has none as a coach.

Ben Simmons returns via Australia, and Maccabi bought a guard for two years

Ben Simmons, who has not played at all in the 2025/26 season and last appeared with the Clippers in 2024/25, will be a full participant „with no restrictions whatsoever" at the Australian national team camp in Melbourne - and he paid his own way there. A coach who has worked with him claims he has regained his explosiveness after a full season off to recover, and several clubs are interested, one with a camp invitation. A three-time All-Star and rookie of the year in 2017/18, the first pick of the draft, he was brought down by back injuries and, as reported, mental health struggles. Meanwhile Keaton Wallace signed a two-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv after a season of 16.1 points, 6.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds in the G League. Two Americans, two entirely different stories about what a second chance means.