By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Vanja Marinkovic is playing his third year in Baskonia, but talking to Meridian Sport, he admitted he was near leaving the club.
Eventually, playing for the national team in the FIBA Qualifiers and the 2023 FIBA World Cup helped him.
“In a way, Svetislav Pešić saved me. I was on the exit doors at Baskonia. I wasn’t playing, and even when I got a little on the court, I lacked confidence. That’s when Pešić called me to play in the windows, and I accepted wholeheartedly. I knew I needed minutes. Through hard work, dedication, and the fact that I came to play in those qualifications in Niš, the coach got a clearer picture of me,” emphasizes Vanja.
He owes a lot of gratitude to the Serbian national team coach Pesic.
“I am grateful to him. I became the starter for the national team; then suddenly there was talk about me, and then people from Baskonia called me… I stayed with the club, and everything started rolling. The past season was good, then came the World Championship, and now this year is… Knock on wood.”
Marinkovic is again working with coach Dusko Ivanovic in Baskonia since the Montenegrin tactician returned to Vitoria in late October, after leaving Crvena Zvezda.
“Everything is really great. I met with Duško Ivanović. He was in the club when I just arrived, so I knew what to expect. Three years have passed since then. He has changed, and so have I. I understood what he wants. ‘It’s not difficult for someone who wants to ‘run the break.’ But if you approach it with the right mindset, accept it, and do well, everything will be great.”
He also talked about being teammates with the US sharpshooter Markus Howard, who took the EuroLeague by storm playing for Baskonia.
“I played with many excellent shooters. For me, the best so far has been Josh Akognon, in Partizan. But, this is some next level. You can’t… A killer,” Marinkovic concluded with Meridian Sport.