The Dubai Basketball point guard was the difference make with a fabulous start against Estonia
Aleksa Avramovic set the tone for Serbia in EuroBasket opener
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If Serbia is like a band of rock stars at EuroBasket 2025, point guard Aleksa Avramovic was every bit their frontman on Wednesday in a 98-64 rout of Estonia. The guard, who next month will lead Dubai Basketball in its debut EuroLeague campaign, started and set the tone as Serbia opened the tournament on the right foot with a convincing victory in Riga, Latvia.
Among a group of players who have impressive trophy hauls on both sides of the Atlantic, Avramovic was simply excellent for Coach Pesic. Avramovic started at point guard next to Bogdan Bogdanovic, with Nikola Jovic, his Dubai teammate Filip Petrusev and Nikola Jokic rounding out the starting five. Aside from Avramovic, the other four have all played in the EuroLeague Final Four or the NBA Finals.
But when the opening tip went up, no Serbia player was more active than Avramovic. After 5 minutes of action, as Serbia opened its first double-digit lead of the night (16-6), Avramovic stood tall as Serbia’s joint leading scorer with 5 points and as the team's only players with multiple rebounds. On the other end, he held Estonia's go-to scorer, Kristian Kullamae of Lietkabelis Panevezys,** scoreless with 3 turnovers – including an offensive foul that Avramovic drew.
After Kullamae broke through with his first points – a triple over Avramovic, the point guard answered back by assisting on a Nikola Jovic three, stealing the ball and then feeding Jovic for a layup. In less than 8 minutes, Serbia had built a 25-9 lead with Avramovic as its frontman.
Pesic sent Avramovic back out to start the third quarter and he amassed 8 points – including a pair of three-pointers – and an assist in less than 4 minutes before he was done for the night.
His final line was 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in just 11:28 minutes on the floor. Avramovic shot 3 of 5 from deep in posting a PIR of 19. In his time on the floor, Serbia outscored Estonia 43-12. In the 28 and a half minutes in which Avramovic rested, the score was 55-52!
Up next for Avramovic and Serbia will be a Friday night challenge against Portugal as they try to keep the momentum going in search of another medal at the prestigious tournament.