Branislav Prelević or Mpranislav Prelevits ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Прелевић, ; born 19 December 1966) is a retired Serbian professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player and coach. He is commonly referred to by his nickname Bane ( sr-Cyrl, Бане, ).
Personal information
Prelević was born to
ethnic Serb parents in
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
,
SR Serbia,
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
. He holds both Serbian and Greek citizenship. His family originated from the
Bjelopavlići clan. His maternal great grandfather was born in
Eratyra and he had the surname Alvanos.
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 Greece in 2010, and she represented Greece at
Miss Universe 2010.
Professional playing career
Red Star Belgrade
Prelević started his career with
Crvena zvezda (Red Star Belgrade).
PAOK Thessaloniki
In 1988, at age 21, Prelević moved to Greece in order to be able to play for
PAOK Thessaloniki, where he spent eight seasons.
Then 21-year-old Prelević debuted in the 1988–89 season. He became the definitive leader and a fan favorite, often compared to the great
Nikos Galis, who was at the time the
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
of
Aris. Prelević 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.
While playing with
PAOK
PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
, Prelević won the
FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup
The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the European professional club basketball system, second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winn ...
, when PAOK defeated
CAI Zaragoza in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, by a score of 76–72 on 26 March 1991.
The next season, Prelević was again the leader of
PAOK
PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
, and the team reached the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup final again, but they lost to
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
, by a score of 63–65. In the same season, PAOK won the
Greek League championship, beating out
Olympiacos.
Prelević participated in the
EuroLeague for the first time, in the 1992–93 season, and managed to reach the Athens
1993 EuroLeague Final Four. PAOK lost in the semifinal game to
Benetton Treviso, which was led by superstar
Toni Kukoč, by a score of 77–79.
In 1994, Prelević and PAOK returned to European-wide success by winning the
FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...
two-leg final against
Stefanel Trieste, winning both at home and away by 9 points. The following year, PAOK won the
Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...
, in a 19-point victory against
Panionios, by a score of 72–53. In 1996, he was a
FIBA European Cup finalist.
Virtus Bologna
In 1996, Prelević moved to Italy to play with
Virtus Bologna (called Kinder Bologna at the time for sponsorship reasons).
AEK Athens
In 1997, Prelević returned to Greece and played with
AEK Athens. Prelević reached the
EuroLeague Final Four in Barcelona in 1998, where his team beat
Benetton Treviso in the semis, by a score of 69–66, before losing in the final to
Kinder Bologna, by a score of 44–58. In 1998 and 1999, Prelević was a
Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...
finalist.
Return to PAOK Thessaloniki
In 1999, Prelević returned to
PAOK
PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
, and he then quit playing professional basketball at the end of the season.
National team career
In 1983, Prelević was part of the
Yugoslavia Under-16 national team that won the gold medal at the
1983 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Germany. That team included, alongside Prelević, players such as
Žarko Paspalj,
Jure Zdovc,
Luka Pavićević,
Ivo Nakić, and
Miroslav Pecarski.
FIBA.com Yugoslavia 1983 European Championship For Cadets.
/ref> He was selected to compete FR Yugoslavia national team at the 1992 Olympic Tournament, but Yugoslavia's participation eventually suspended due to the Yugoslav War.
Post-playing career
Prelević later returned to PAOK
PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
in the 2001–02 season, as an assistant basketball coach. He was then the head coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
of PAOK, from 2002 to 2005. He then went on to become the President of the club, from 2011 until 2019.
Honors and awards
*PAOK
PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
:
** Greek League Champion: (1992)
**Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...
Winner: (1995)
**3× Greek League All-Star: (1991, 1994 II, 1996 I)
**FIBA Saporta Cup
The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against eac ...
(European Cup Winners' Cup) Champion: (1991)
** FIBA Saporta Cup Top Scorer: (1992)
**3× FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer: (1991, 1992, 1996)
**FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...
Champion: (1994)
* Virtus Bologna:
** Italian Cup Winner: (1997)
References
External links
FIBA EuroLeague Profile
FIBA Europe Profile
Eurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prelevic, Branislav
1966 births
Living people
AEK B.C. players
Basketball players from Belgrade
Basketball players with retired numbers
Greek basketball chairmen and investors
Greek basketball coaches
Greek basketball executives and administrators
Greek Basket League players
Greek men's basketball players
Greek people of Serbian descent
Greek expatriate basketball people in Serbia
KK Crvena zvezda players
P.A.O.K. BC coaches
P.A.O.K. BC players
Serbian basketball executives and administrators
Serbian expatriate basketball people in Greece
Serbian expatriate basketball people in Italy
Serbian men's basketball coaches
Serbian men's basketball players
Serbian people of Greek descent
Shooting guards
Virtus Bologna players
Yugoslav men's basketball players
20th-century Greek sportsmen