By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Bojan Dubljevic has been playing on a high level this season helping Valencia go through the EuroCup Top 16 phase undefeated and earned the Top 16 MVP honor for it.
The 27-year-old center has six EuroCup seasons under his belt and is the all-time leader in scoring, rebounds and performance index rating but believes the 2018-19 campaign is the most competitive one of them all. He also believes the Top 8 teams are all ‘EuroLeague-ready’: “I think that this is the best EuroCup season ever. At least, it is the best season of all the years I played in the competition. All the teams that are fighting to win the EuroCup could play in the EuroLeague, easily, for sure”, told EuroCup Basketball, before analyzing the matchups ahead of Valencia.
“As for the playoffs, all games will be like a final because all eight teams are really good. Fans will see really good games, I am sure. I hope we will beat Rytas. The series against UNICS and Lokomotiv will be really tough, maybe the toughest series. I don’t know who will win that series because both teams are at the same level. ALBA is in really good shape and we already played against ASVEL twice and know they are a very serious team; their coach is my national team coach and he is really good. All games will be fun. We can see surprises and no team is the favorite in its series”, he explained.
An extra motive for Valencia and Dubljevic himself would be helping their captain Rafa Martinez win his third EuroCup title, and doing so after the hardships early in the season: “First of all, it would be the best story I have ever seen in my life. It would be amazing. He is our leader, on and off the court and for the first time in his career, he had a serious injury at the beginning of the season. He came back, is stronger every day and now, Rafa could become the first player to win three EuroCup titles. If it happens, they should make a movie about him! If we want that to happen, we need to be really strong at home. With our fans, we know we have a good chance to win every game because I know they will support us more than ever.”