Jovana Vukoje discovered basketball as a safe space when her family was displaced during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and later resettled in Serbia. A local outdoor court, where the only rule was who took the first shot, became the starting point of a journey that led her to the Serbian national team and, today, to an international role as an events manager within FIBA 3×3. “There was no conflict on the court; children just wanted to play,” she recalls.
At 16, she signed her first professional contract in Serbia. She went on to play in Germany, Romania, Croatia, and Spain — including a season with Campus Promete in Logroño — before being called to represent her country in 3×3. From that experience, she took away a clear conviction: “If I wanted to work in basketball as a profession, 3×3 would always be my first choice.” Since 2019, her work has focused on helping more women see 3×3 as a viable professional pathway.
Sport as a space for rebuilding
Jovana and her twin sister, Nataša Vukoje, faced the challenge of adapting to a new environment as children. Basketball became a common language: first through streetball, and later through the official 3×3 format. “Sport was how we felt accepted,” she explains. That early experience shapes her approach today: creating access for girls from different backgrounds to enter clubs, clinics, and international series.
In 2017, she reached the quarter-finals of the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup with the Serbian national team, the best result achieved by the women’s team to date. After completing the TIME-OUT 2.0 educational program run by FIBA, she transitioned from playing to working behind the scenes — first in competition management and rule development, then in events and international partnerships.
From street courts to the development of women’s 3×3
Her current role focuses on raising the competitive standard and professional conditions of the circuit: supporting athletes, stabilizing calendars, and increasing global visibility through the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series. “3×3 is creating opportunities for players and fans from different communities,” she notes, emphasizing its role in widening the global basketball talent pool.
The basketball culture in Serbia, with its strong technical foundations and passionate fan base, remains a core part of her identity. Even during her professional 5×5 career, she returned to Belgrade in the off-season to play 3×3 every evening — maintaining a connection with the place where it all began.
Spain along the way and looking toward new generations
Her time at Campus Promete connected her to development-focused women’s basketball projects in Spain, reinforcing her view of the court as a space for learning and for nurturing future coaches and referees.
Today, within FIBA 3×3, she leads international activity weeks, technical clinics, and expansion of the circuit into new regions, with a clear goal: “To create more opportunities for female players and continue professionalizing women’s 3×3.”
