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TULSA, Okla. >> It was sure to be an expensive phone call. Tourney time is Savo
time at 2 schoolsBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.com"Probably a couple of hours," said Hawaii guard Predrag Savovic after he walked away with the MVP trophy of the Western Athletic Conference tournament last night at Reynolds Arena.
Savovic had to wait until after the Rainbows defeated Tulsa, 73-59, to call and congratulate his brother. Boban Savovic, a senior guard for Ohio State, helped the Buckeyes win their Big Ten semifinal over Illinois yesterday afternoon, 94-88.
Boban is only one time zone away from Predrag this weekend, as is their mother. She's in Indianapolis watching Boban play in the Big Ten tournament.
"She got to see both of us play today," said Predrag Savovic, who scored 28 points last night. "I don't know if she'll be able to come to our (NCAA) game. She'll be coming to Hawaii in a few weeks."
When her oldest son will be back in Honolulu is up in the air. The Rainbows will find out where they'll play in the tournament today.
When comparing the brothers' statistics, it's hard to say who had the better game. Besides the 28 points, Predrag had 6 rebounds; Boban had 11 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
From 3-point range, Predrag was 3 of 11, Boban 2 of 5.
But ask Tulsa coach John Phillips, who "The Man" was, and there was no comparison
"(Predrag) Savovic plays a different game," said Phillips. "He understands the offensive end of the floor. It's like an old man playing against boys because he knows every trick. And he is very, very good. Hopefully he'll be playing in the NBA someday because he's got the ability to do that."
Predrag has some options in front of him. He's waiting for his LSAT scores, hoping to be accepted into Hawaii's Richardson School of Law. He's been invited to the NBA Combine in Portsmouth, Va., next month.
"But first we have the NCAA Tournament," he said. "I never make projections. We will take it one game at a time. It started like that, and we want to keep on going.
"As you mature as a man, you mature as a player. We are maturing as a team. We are not exposed (on national television) as much as other teams so I hope now we can show what we can do. As basketball players, we like to see us on TV. Hawaii is a paradise, but I would like people to know and understand that Hawaii has a great basketball team.
"It's time to show the United States that this United Nations team can do something."
The Reynolds Center crowd tried to shake the Yugoslavian when he was at the free-throw line. They chanted, "U-S-A, U-S-A."
Savovic responded by hitting 7 of 9 from the line.
"I like the Tulsa crowd, they are almost as good as ours in Hawaii," he said. "I feel very comfortable here. The crowd makes you feel like you're playing for something."
The Rainbows were playing for their postseason lives yesterday. No doubt, Boban Savovic heard all about it.
UH Athletics