Stevan Jelovac (Serbian: Стеван Еловац; 1989–2021) was a Serbian professional basketball player who played for a number of European clubs. In the 2017–2018 season he played for the basketball club Nizhny Novgorod, where he set the VTB United League record for points scored in a single game. He died on December 5, 2021, at the age of 32, following a stroke.[2]

Playing for BC Nizhny Novgorod

Jelovac played for BC Nizhny Novgorod from 2017 to 2018. Before moving to the Nizhny Novgorod club, he spent three years (from 2014) with Spain's Zaragoza, where he became one of the team's leaders in Liga ACB and EuroCup games, and in July 2016 he took part in the NBA Summer League as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.[3][2] On November 19, 2017, he was among the Nizhny Novgorod players who scored in the home VTB United League game against Tallinn's Kalev, which the hosts won 103:85. The team's head coach, Zoran Lukić, noted the collective nature of the performance: over the course of the game, Nizhny racked up 25 assists and recorded the highest-scoring game in the VTB United League that season.[1]

Jelovac holds the VTB United League record for points scored by a single player in one game — 49 points. In the 2017–2018 VTB United League season, Jelovac played 14 games for BC Nizhny Novgorod, averaging 20.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 46% from the field.[4] This result came on February 15, 2018, in an away game against Tallinn's Kalev, which Nizhny won 103:97 — in that game, Jelovac spent more than 41 minutes on the court.[4][2]

Death

On November 14, 2021, during an individual training session assigned after an ankle injury, Jelovac lost consciousness. At the time he was playing for the Greek club AEK. The athlete was rushed to intensive care. At the family's request, he was transferred to Serbia, where he died on December 5, 2021.[2] AEK's press office officially announced the basketball player's death.[2]

Sources

  1. nn.aif.ru — Before moving to BC Nizhny Novgorod, Jelovac spent three years playing for the Spanish club Zaragoza (from 2014), where he became one of the team's leaders in Liga Endesa and Eurocup games (archive)
  2. slamdunk.ru — Jelovac scored a record 49 points on February 15, 2018, in an away game against Tallinn's Kalev, which ended in a 103:97 victory for Nizhny; in that game (archive)
  1. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — BC "Nizhny Novgorod" beat Tallinn's "Kalev" on November 19. Nizhny Novgorod News (archive)
  2. m.5-tv.ru — How former Nizhny Novgorod basketball player Stevan Jelovac died