By Dylan Butler
No, it's not the NBA. It's professional basketball in Macedonia's top league, but that's about as much as the former Archbishop Molloy and Queens College standout knows. He's going to play for a team whose name he doesn't know. He doesn't know the coach or any of the players, he has a non-guaranteed contract for very little money set up by a German agent he doesn't know. But it's professional basketball and Sikiric can't wait to get started.”It's a challenge and I'm not afraid of the challenge,” he said. “It's my dream so I'm willing to do anything to get this going. It's the best opportunity I have and I have to take advantage of it.”Sikiric left Jan. 18 for Macedonia, a small country in southeast Europe that was once part of Yugoslavia, where he will play for Strumica 2005 in the country's capital. The team is one of 10 in Macedonia's top division, a league that is two years old. Through 17 games, Strumica is 8-9 and its new coach is Peter Pejcic, who replaced Drago Jankov.While he will play for little money, Sikiric will get money for food and an apartment to live in rent-free. Each team is allowed four foreign players, including two Americans. Sikiric, though, was signed because of his Croatian passport. “They pretty much got rid of everyone over there, the coach, all the American players and the Bosnian players,” Sikiric said. “It's pretty much midseason and I'm jumping in right away.”Sikiric, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward, is the fourth all-time scorer in Queens College history. This is Sikiric's second attempt to play professionally in Europe. The Maspeth native also went to Hungary and was impressive in his tryout with a club in that country's top division. But Sikiric would not be picked and returned home even more determined to succeed.”After that situation, its real tough to come home and keep on working out, not knowing if this is going to happen to me,” Sikiric said.But Sikiric worked out in the early afternoon with Queens College assistant coach Jerry Ingenito and then joined his former team for practice later in the afternoon.”He deserves everything he gets,” Queens coach Kyrk Peponakis said. “He should have been playing already. If he doesn't go there and have a long, great career, it's there fault, not his. He's the guy you want. He's a great person and a great player.”The deal was brokered by Andre Buck, an American agent who has contacts oversees. Sikiric is the second player from Queens to play professionally oversees. Stephen Hale, who also attended Molloy, played in the French first division for Chorale de Roanne after graduating from Queens in 1998. “It's just a start for me,” Sikiric said. “Hopefully I get into one of those bigger leagues where I can maybe do some things for myself over there.”Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
