Serbian player undergoes kidney removal surgery after hit in FIBA World Cup game

MANILA, Philippines -- The FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila just had one of its few dark spots amidst a smooth sailing so far marked by competitive games, thrilling upsets and commendable fan experience for teams and players.

In a major development, Serbia’s Borisa Simanic had one of his kidneys “surgically removed” as announced by the Serbia Basketball Federation after sustaining a huge blow in their group phase match against South Sudan last Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

“Due to changes in the vitality of the kidney tissue, the entire kidney had to be surgically removed. We expect and hope that after this operation, the post-operative course will proceed smoothly,” stated the federation in a translated social media announcement originally in Serbian language.

The 6-foot-11 Simanic suffered the injury in the 1:50 mark of the fourth quarter after taking an elbow hit from Nuni Omot as Serbia was on the verge of a blowout win with a 108-76 lead. Serbia won the match, 115-83, to sweep Group B and advance to the second round.

He immediately left the game and was rushed to the nearest hospital before being ruled out of the rest of Serbia’s campaign in the World Cup.

Apparently, Serbia said Simanic had already gone under the knife that night at the Makati Medical Center right after the injury but needed another procedure on Sunday due to “complications” as diagnosed by Prof. Dr. Dragan Radovanovi?, the team’s official doctor.

“After Simani? was operated on for the first time on the night between August 30 and 31, doctors monitored the postoperative recovery and decided that a new operation was necessary due to complications,” the federation added.

“Regarding the new operation and the state of health of Boriša Simani?, the doctor of the Serbian national team, Prof. Dr. Dragan Radovanovi?, states that, due to complications in the injured kidney that occurred during the postoperative course, Boriša Simani? was operated on again.”

Since the incident, Omot had already apologized to Serbia and Simanic, saying that he is not a dirty player after his turnaround post-move inside the basket led to an accidental elbow hit on Simanic.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to make any type of dirty play. I hope you have a speedy recovery. I’ll pray for you, and you’ll be in my prayers,” said Omot.

“I’m not a dirty player, I’ve never been a dirty player. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely apologize to everyone who’s watching and to the player, especially.”

Without Simanic, whose jersey No. 28 was put up by Serbia in one of the reserved seats on the bench against Italy, bravely marched on to its World Cup campaign highlighted by a 112-79 win over Dominican Republic to barge into the quarterfinals.

It’s the next man up for the Serbians, dedicating this World Cup run to their injured comrade entering a gigantic quarterfinal duel against fellow European powerhouse Lithuania that just stunned Team USA.

“We lost one player, Simani?, and we played with 11 players. Congratulations to my players, they showed character and team spirit,” said Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic, a FIBA Hall of Famer.

“It’s important for the confidence of our players. It means that in our next games, we have to play more. In one competition, and now which is the World Cup, it’s important for all our players to be responsible and ready to give their maximum best every game.”