Branislav Prelević

Branislav Prelević
Position Guard
Height 6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg)
League Euroleague
Born December 19, 1966 (1966-12-19) (age 45)
Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia
Nationality GreekSerbs
Pro career 1986–2000
Career history Red Star Belgrade (1986-88)
PAOK BC (1988-96)
Virtus Bologna (1996-97)
AEK BC (1997-99)
PAOK BC (1999-00)
Awards Italian Cup MVP 1997

Branislav "Bane" Prelević (Serbian: Бранислав Прелевић Бане, Greek: Μπράνισλαβ Πρέλεβιτς, born December 19, 1966 in Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia) is a retired Serbian-Greek professional basketball player. Prelević was born to Serbian parents in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia. Prelević holds Serbian-Greek dual citizenship because of having Hellenic ancestry.

Contents

Career

PAOK BC

He started his career with Red Star Belgrade. In 1988, at age 21, he moved to Greece in order to be able to play for PAOK BC, where he spent eight seasons.

Then 21-year old Branislav Prelević debuted in the 1988-89 season. He became the definitive leader and a fan favorite, often compared to the great Nick Galis, who was at the time the captain of Aris BC. Prelevic was often quoted for his loyalty to the team. He had a number of injuries and medical emergencies because of weak legs, but he would constantly choose to take heavy dosages of painkillers, rather than missing out on any important games.

Playing for PAOK BC, Branislav Prelević won the European Cup Winners' Cup when PAOK defeated CAI Zaragoza in Geneva 76-72 on March 26, 1991. [1]

The next season, Branislav Prelević was again the leader of PAOK BC and the team reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final again but lost to Real Madrid 63-65. [2]. In the same year PAOK won the Greek Championship, beating out Olympiacos.

Prelević participated in the 1992-93 European Champion's Cup for the first time and managed to reach the Athens Final Four. PAOK lost in the semi final game to Benetton Treviso, which was led by superstar Toni Kukoč, by a score of 77-79.[3]

In 1994, Prelević and PAOK returned to European success by winning the Korać Cup two-leg final against Pallacanestro Trieste, winning both at home and away by 9 points.[4] The following year, PAOK won the Greek Cup in a 19 point victory against Panionios 72-53. In 1996 he was a European Cup Finalist.[5]

Virtus Bologna

In 1996 he moved to Italy to play for Virtus Bologna. [6]

AEK BC

In 1997 he returned to Greece and played for AEK Athens BC. Prelević reached the European Champions' Cup Final Four in Barcelona in 1998, and beat Benetton Treviso by a score of 69-66, before losing in the final to Virtus Bologna by a score of 44-58. [7] In 1998 and 1999, Branislav Prelević was a Greek Cup finalist.

Return to PAOK

In 1999, Bane Prelevic returned to PAOK BC and he then quit basketball at the end of the season. [8] He later returned to PAOK in the 2001–2002 season as an assistant coach.

Honors

PAOK Greece

PAOK Europe

AEK Europe

Virtus Bologna

Personal information

He is married to Nevena Prelević-Marjanović (born 26 April 1967, daughter of legendary Yugoslavian and Serbian pop singer Đorđe Marjanović), and he has two children, named Anna and Tea. Anna was elected Miss Hellas in 2010 and she represented Greece at 2010 Miss Universe.

External links