Photos: The Antonija Misura Story

July 18, 2018

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Antonija Sandric (Antonija Misura) 19 May 1988 is a Croatian professional basketball player. She plays for the Polish team CCC Polkowice and the Croatia women’s national basketball team.

Sandrić has represented the national team in the 2009 Mediterranean Games, EuroBasket Women 2011, 2012 Olympics and EuroBasket Women 2013.

She plays as a pointguard and shooting guard, and is noted for her quick, aggressive style of play. Sandrić has also been featured in several polls for the most beautiful sportswoman, and her looks have attracted significant media attention.

As a girl, Sandrić played a variety of sports in her native city of Šibenik, including volleyball. She was ultimately attracted to basketball, following the example of her older sister, as well as her sports idol Dražen Petrović, also a native of Šibenik. She started her professional career with Vidici Dalmostan in 2005, moving to Jolly JBS in 2007, and winning both the national championship and the Croatian Cup in 2008, in her first season with her new club.

In the 2010–11 season, Sandrić averaged 30.0 minutes and 9.0 points per game in the Adriatic League, and 26.0 minutes and 7.3 points per game in the EuroCup, leading her team in assists and steals per game in the Adriatic League with 3.5 and 2.0, respectively.

With the national team, Sandrić won the bronze medal at the 2009 Mediterranean Games, placed 5th in the EuroBasket Women 2011 and 10th in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Due to competition from more experienced players, Sandrić saw limited playing time with the national team in 2011 and 2012, scoring 4.8 points per game in the Eurobasket and 3.3 points per game in the Olympics.

Sandrić is often described as the most beautiful sportswoman of Croatia.She was named Miss Mediterranean Games in 2009 by a poll of 80 accredited photographers from 23 countries.

The American sports website Bleacher Report named her the most beautiful female competitor at the 2012 Summer Olympics, The American Entertainment and Lifestyle Magazine Muze featured her as one of the 2012 Olympics most amazing athletes,and her appearance in London attracted coverage in a similar vein from Russia Today, the New England Sports Network and Serbian newspaper Blic.Croatian media also noted a tweet by the NBA player Nate Robinson, who, after watching Sandrić in the Croatia vs. Czech Republic game, commented that she “might be the most beautiful woman basketball player ever to lace up some sneakers”.

Sandrić has stated that the attention is both flattering and annoying. She has declined most modelling offers, focusing chiefly on her sports career and education. As of 2012, she is studying tourism management in Šibenik.