By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Valencia star and team captain Bojan Dubljevic was the guest of Eurohoops’ EuroLeague Live Show Vol. 3, in a conversation with Alex Madrid and Antonis Stroggylakis.
Dubljevic discussed his team’s run in the season so far, the potential of the team after notable summer signings (Nikola Kalinic, Derrick Williams). and once again declared his unyielding faith and commitment to Valencia.
“I just say ‘Thank you,’ nothing else,” Dubljevic said when asked how would he respond if a strong offer came by an NBA club. The Montenegrin big man’s rights are currently owned by the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I found my house here so, thanks for everything, but I stay with Valencia,” would be Dubljevic’s answer.
Dubljevic (currently averaging 14.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in EuroLeague) has been with Valencia since 2012. These eight years the club has seen immense growth in various aspects: Organization, facilities, budget, while having success in EuroCup with two trophies and ACB with the 2017 championship title, with Dubljevic winning Finals MVP.
Does Dubljevic believe it’s time for Valencia to be rewarded with a guaranteed license in EuroLeague? “Yeah of course,” he said. “I think we are growing year by year. Right now, we are a really good team. One of the best in Europe in everything. Making a great, big gym. And our ambition is to win the EuroLeague one day. So I think, yes, we deserve to have an A license in EuroLeague.”
In a discussion that spanned for over 20 minutes, Dubljevic also talked about dealing with the coronavirus lockdown, the success of Valencia’s ACB bubble, the “Balkan” character of this season’s Valencia (featuring Nikola Kalinic, Vanja Marinkovic and Klemen Prepelic), his coaching, post-retirement plans and how he combines Slipknot with… Bob Dylan in his playlist.
Alex Madrid and Antonis Stroggylakis were joined by Johnny Askounis to take a look at some of the major EuroLeague topics of interest for Round 6: Shane Larkin returning to action, Bobby Dixon lifting Fenerbahce Beko, the biggest winners and losers of the week, and much more.