Fiba 3×3 World Tour established itself as a top-class competition on a global level. Best rosters are having strong competition for the title of the best team in the world every calendar year. Many players became popular thanks to the fact that tournaments are played across different continents. One of them is Mihailo Vasic who is representing team Liman from Novi Sad and the Serbian national squad.
Let’s briefly look at what his road to glory consisted of in the next couple of paragraphs.
How was his first season in team Liman?
Mihailo Vasic joined team Liman from Novi Sad in 2017 and main star Stefan Stojacic warmly welcomed the new guy. Squad which already involved Stefan Kojic, Marko Brankovic, and Aleksandar Ratkov wanted to strengthen play under the rim with a physically strong player.
Mihailo represented the roster in the first Masters of the campaign in Canadian City Saskatoon where he and his teammates took 5th place losing to home team Hamilton. Despite the loss in the quarterfinals, Vasic left a good impression in his debut appearance in big competition scoring 11 points overall.
Debrecen Masters was even better for the team and player as they took 1st place beating Ljubljana in the final with 21-14 with the hero of our story contributing with 25 points.
What happened in Mihailo’s second campaign on World Tour?
Following a relatively solid inaugural performance on World Tour, the hero of today’s story continued collaboration with Liman in 2018. Winning trophies in Utsunomiya, Chengdu, and Penang with Vasic in the squad was a confirmation of how good his adaptation to the team’s tactic went.
How successful was Vasic in the 2019 World Tour?
After three won Masters in 2018, Vasic and Liman had big expectations regarding new campaign and challenges. Maksim Kovacevic, Stefan Kojic, Aleksandar Ratkov, and Mihailo Vasic were a powerful quartet that represented the team from Novi Sad in the majority of the tournaments held that year.
On their wings, Liman won the Debrecen Masters defeating in a super exciting clash Riga with 21-18. In that tournament, Mihailo was the second rebounder behind Agnis Cavars with 24 grabbed rebounds.
Unfortunately, that was the only trophy for the roster that was weaker because of Stojacic’s departure. Squad was also forced to compete with three players in some games which also affected the quality of performances.
Which year was the first for Mihailo in a Serbian shirt?
Excellent performances on the team level earned Mihailo an invitation to the national squad for the planetary championship held in Amsterdam.
At the 2019 World Cup, Vasic represented Serbia together with Dejan Majstorovic, Dusan Bulut, and Marko Savic. Defeats against USA and Latvia showed that Mihailo and his teammates were not good enough for gold at that moment. One of the worst tournaments in the history of this country in 3×3 ended in defeat against Poland in a game for a bronze medal.
Consequently, Liman’s player was devastated because his expectations were not met. Serbia competed at the 2019 Europe Cup three months later and won it, but Vasic didn’t participate.
How good performances had Mihailo in the pandemic 2020?
World Tour was postponed a little bit due to an unexpected pandemic that hit the world in March, so the competition started in August. Logically, the number of tournaments was lower that season. The best 3×3 players on the planet, among whom was Vasic, gathered in Debrecen first.
Mihailo, Stefan Kojic, Aleksandar Ratkov, and Stefan Stojacic aimed to win the title in Hungary in an attempt to win the whole competition.
Passing the group stage was an easy task for the Serbs, so they played in the quarterfinal against Slovenian Piran. Pulling out a victory against Piran was followed by a 21-15 victory over compatriots Novi Sad. Afterwards, Mihailo and his teammates beat Lithuanian Utena with 21-16 to clinch the first trophy in the campaign.
Subsequently, Europe Masters was won by beating another Lithuanian team Sakiai with 21-15. Final Masters of World Tour in Jeddah was played in a fantastic atmosphere with another Soviet team Riga and Liman playing the final. Riga was too strong and won with 21-20.
Mihailo Vasic scored in those three tournaments 22, 21, and 28 points respectively.
What result did Vasic achieve in the 2021 World Tour?
Mihailo’s Liman didn’t win any trophy in 2021, but still raised hopes for the Final Masters in Jeddah.
Nebojsa Kilijan, Stefan Kojic, Aleksandar Ratkov, and Mihailo Vasic were a quartet in a Saudi Arabian city that fans of Novi Sad’s team trusted in.
Victories were recorded against two Soviet teams Sakiai and Gagarin, so the Serbian team proceeded easily to the quarterfinal. Lausanne, Antwerp, and Gagarin were beaten for the first-ever title on Final Masters for Vasic and Liman.
Eventually, Vasic was named MVP of the competition and he was the second-best scorer with 31 points.
How did Olympic Games go for Vasic?
Serbia qualified for the first-ever Olympic Games in Tokyo in this popular sport which was organized in 2021 due to the pandemic.
The guys in the white shirt were full of self-confidence entering the 2021 Olympic Games and beat ROC with 21-10 in the group stage. Despite winning all games in the pool, Vasic and his teammates were stopped shockingly in semis against the same team with the same result.
Mihailo, Dusan Bulut, Dejan Majstorovic, and Aleksandar Ratkov redeemed themselves by pulling out a victory in a game for a bronze medal against Belgium with guess what? 21-10.
Definitely, the weakest point of his game is shot from a distance.
How good displays Vasic had in national competitions in 2021?
Following the disappointment experienced at Olympic Games, Serbia participated in the continental championship in Paris.
Mihailo Vasic, Miroslav Pasajlic, Aleksandar Ratkov, and Dejan Majstorovic represented this nation against strong competition. The guys in white jersey defeated Belgium and lost shockingly to Ukraine in the group phase which was sufficient for qualifying for the quarterfinal.
Obstacles France and Russia were skipped successfully, so Mihailo and his teammates faced Lithuania in the final. Serbia beat the Soviet country with 20-14 in the game for the gold medal for the fourth trophy.
Which competitions in 2022 did Mihailo take part in?
Serbia competed at the 2022 World Cup held in Antwerp in June in an attempt to reclaim the title of the best team on the planet.
Marko Brankovic, Mihailo Vasic, Dejan Majstorovic, and Strahinja Stojacic represented this nation. France, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, a Brazil were beaten convincingly, so Serbia passed the group stage. Finally, the guys in the white jersey won against Latvia, Belgium, and Lithuania to secure the fifth trophy at the planetary championship.
Three months later, the same squad wanted to confirm dominance at the European level in a high-competitive contest. Serbia recorded two easy victories at the 2022 Europe Cup to finish as the first-placed team in the group.
Mihailo and teammates pulled out a victory over Poland, Netherlands, and Latvia in the elimination stages in Austrian Graz to win fourth gold at the continental competition.
Which place in the 2022 World Tour did Mihailo Vasic take?
Following the Olympic year, the Liman’s players were looking to defend the title gained in the previous campaign of the World Tour.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out at the end of the season as expected. Only Masters in Utrecht was won on the road to the final Masters in Abu Dhabi. Mihailo Vasic, Stefan Kojic, Miroslav Pasajlic, and Aleksandar Ratkov beat Paris in final in tournament in Netherland with 21-15.
However, spectators caught only a glimpse of Liman’s potential since a team from Novi Sad ended the Final Masters at last 12th place suffering two defeats in the group stage.
Serbia is the most successful nation in this extremely thrilling sport until this moment. One of the most recognizable faces to spectators in this country is Mihailo Vasic. His determination and commitment to every single game are tremendous and something that future generations will talk about.
The magnificent easiness with which he performs under the rim brings every team confidence and relieves other players of excessive pressure. Is he going to stay one of the crucial figures in further successes in the national Serbian squad and his team? Big chances are that’s going to happen.
His best years are yet to come and it’s not difficult to conclude that the 2024 Olympic Games will be the peak of his 3×3 career.
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