Quick Facts
Biography
Branislav "Bane" Prelević (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранислав Прелевић; born December 19, 1966) is a retired Serbian and Greek professional basketball player. He is known by the name of Branislav Prelevits (Greek: Μπράνισλαβ Πρέλεβιτς) in Greece. He is commonly referred to by his nickname Bane (Serbian Cyrillic: Бане, Greek: Μπάνε).
Personal information
Prelević was born to ethnic Serb parents in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Prelević holds both Serbian and Greek citizenship.
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 2010 Miss Universe.
Basketball playing career
Red Star
Prelević started his career with Crvena zvezda. In 1983, he was part of the Yugoslavian Under-17 national team that won the gold medal in the 1983 Under-17 European Championship in Germany. That team included, alongside Prelević, players such as Zarko Paspalj, Jure Zdovc, Luka Pavićević, Ivo Nakić, and Miroslav Pecarski.
Thessaloniki
In 1988, at age 21, Prelević moved to Greece in order to be able to play for PAOK, 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. 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.
Playing for PAOK, Branislav Prelević won the European Cup Winners' Cup, when PAOK defeated CAI Zaragoza in Geneva, by a score of 76-72 on March 26, 1991.
The next season, Branislav Prelević was again the leader of PAOK, and the team reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final again, but lost to Real Madrid 63-65. In the same year, PAOK won the Greek League championship, beating out Olympiacos.
Prelević participated in the 1992-93 Euroleague for the first time, and managed to reach the Athens Euroleague 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.
In 1994, Prelević and PAOK returned to European success by winning the Korać Cup two-leg final against Stefanel Trieste, winning both at home and away by 9 points. The following year, PAOK won the Greek Cup in a 19-point victory against Panionios, by a score of 72-53. In 1996, he was a European Cup Finalist.
Bologna
In 1996, Prelević moved to Italy to play for Kinder Bologna.
AEK Athens
In 1997, Prelević returned to Greece and played for AEK Athens. Prelević reached the Euroleague Final Four in Barcelona in 1998, and beat Benetton Treviso by a score of 69-66, before losing in the final to Kinder Bologna by a score of 44-58. In 1998 and 1999, Branislav Prelević was a Greek Cup finalist.
Return to Thessaloniki
In 1999, Bane Prelević returned to PAOK, and he then quit basketball at the end of the season. He later returned to PAOK in the 2001–02 season as an assistant coach.
Honors and awards
- PAOK Greece:
- Greek League Champion: (1992)
- Greek League Finalist: (1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2000)
- Greek Cup Champion: (1995)
- Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer: (1995)
- Greek Cup Finals MVP: (1995)
- PAOK Europe:
- FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup Semifinalist: (1990)
- FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup Champion: (1991)
- FIBA European Cup Finalist: (1992)
- Euroleague 3rd Place: (1993)
- FIBA Korać Cup Champion: (1994)
- FIBA EuroCup Finalist: (1996)
- AEK Europe:
- Euroleague Finalist: (1998)
- Virtus Bologna Italy:
- Italian Cup Champion: (1997)
- Italian Cup MVP: (1997)