INTERVIEW: Nikola Janković - “We have learned from close defeats and improved!”

Wednesday, 21. December 2016 at 11:00

This season there is no doubt regarding who might be the leader of the Dragons of Ljubljana. Nikola Janković has established himself not only as the best player of Olimpija Ljubljana, but also as one of the best centers of the ABA League.

Nikola Jankovic (Photo: Olimpija Ljubljana/Ales Fevzer)

This season there is no doubt regarding who might be the leader of the Dragons of Ljubljana. Nikola Janković has established himself not only as the best player of Olimpija Ljubljana, but also as one of the best centers of the ABA League.

With Nikola we have spoken about excellent performances of his team lately, his individual progress, but also about Ljubljana as a city and his goals ahead of the year 2017.

Read more below.

Olimpija celebrated three times in a row in the ABA League. How did you see these successes and what influenced this run of excellent results?

"We won at three important games. I believe that thanks to the end of the season for us in the 7Days Eurocup we now have more time to prepare for our opponents. In the first part of the season we lost four games by only a point and I believe that we have learnt lots from this and improved as a team."

You have celebrated your last game against your former club Mega Leks. Was it odd for you to play against former teammates.

“We have beaten Mega Leks in our last encounter and I have played there last season. I have plenty of friends at Mega Leks, so I might have been a bit nervous before the start, but when the game began, I wasn’t too emotional and I did my best in order for my team to score a triumph.”

You have shined against Mega Leks. Was it easier for you to play against a team that you know very well thanks to your last season spent there, in comparison to the other games?

“It is always difficult to face Mega Leks, due to their style of game. They have plenty of youngsters on their roster, just like in the previous season, so they are constantly aggressive on defensive end. Mega Leks plays lots of similar or basicly same plays than last season so perhaps it was a bit easier for me to prepare for the game.”

This season you made a great step forward in your performances in comparison to the last one with Mega Leks and you have made your name as one of the most dominant centers of the regional competition. What affected your resurrection?

“After the end of last season I completely focused on individual practices. Coach Aleksandar Matović gets the most credits for my individual progress during the summer. I spent lots of time with him in the gym. When I arrived to Ljubljana I got lots of support and freedom from head coach Okorn, which affects my development and performances.”

Have you got used to life in Ljubljana? What do you think of the city and how do you spend your spare time? Who are the teammates that you are spending the most time with?

“Ljubljana is a beautiful and peaceful place for living. I spent already three seasons of my career abroad so I quickly adapted to new town. Thanks to busy schedule I did not have lots of chances to focus on other activities. I spend most of my free time to rest and regenerate.”

What competitive goals are ahead of you regarding the 2017?

“In 2017 I wish to be healthy, since this is the only way for me in order to continue to give my maximum on court and help the team in the best possible way. Our goal is to play every single game the best way possible and we will see where this takes us.”

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Nikola Janković: "Iz tesnih porazov smo se veliko naučili in napredovali kot moštvo!"

V tej sezoni ni nobenega dvoma o tem, kdo je prvo ime Zmajev iz Ljubljane. Nikola Janković se je uveljavil ne le kot vodja Olimpije Ljubljana, pač pa tudi kot eden najboljših centrov lige ABA.

Z Nikolo smo se pogovarjali o odličnih predstavah njegovega moštva v zadnjem času, njegovem individualnem napredku, pa tudi o tem kako mu se dopade Ljubljana in kakšne cilje ima pred seboj za prihajajoče leto.

Več si preberite v spodnjih vrsticah.

Olimpija je slavila zmage na prejšnjih treh tekmah lige ABA. Kako ste vi videli te uspehe in kaj je privedlo do niza dobrih rezultatov?

"Zmagali smo tri pomembne tekme. Mislim, da imamo zaradi končanega nastopanja v 7Days EuroCupu predvsem več časa za pripravo na nasprotnika. V prvem delu sezone smo izgubili kar štiri tekme v končnici za točko in mislim, da smo se od teh porazov veliko naučili in, predvsem napredovali kot ekipa."

Zadnjo zmago ste dosegli proti vašemu bivšemu klubu Mega Leks. Vam je bilo čudno igrati proti nekdanjim soigralcem?

"Na naši zadnji tekmi v Ligi ABA smo premagali Mega Leks, kjer sem igral v prejšnji sezoni. V Mega Leksu imam veliko prijateljev, zato sem bil mogoče malo bolj nervozen pred začetkom, a ko se je tekma začela, ni bilo preveč emocij in dal sem vse od sebe, da je moja ekipa prišla do pomembne zmage."

Proti Megi ste na parketu blesteli. Vam je bilo lažje igrati kot proti ostalim moštvom glede na to, da večino igralcev zelo dobro poznate po zaslugi lanske skupne sezone?

"Z Mega Leksom je vedno težko igrati zaradi njihovega stila igre. Imajo veliko mladih igralcev, kot v lanski sezoni, zato so konstantno agresivni v obrambi. Mega Leks igra dosti podobnih ali pa celo istih akcij kot v lanski sezoni, zato mi je bilo mogoče nekoliko lažje, da se pripravim na tekmo."

V tej sezoni ste naredili velik individualen napredek v primerjavi z minulo pri Mega Leksu in ste se uveljavili kot eden najbolj dominantnih centrov regionalnega tekmovanja. Kaj je vplivalo na vaš preporod?

"Po koncu lanske sezone sem se popolnoma posvetil individualnemu delu. Največje zasluge za moj individualni napredek med poletjem ima trener Aleksandar Matović s katerim sem preživel veliko časa v dvorani. Ob prihodu v Ljubljano sem dobil veliko podporo in svobodo s strani trenerja Okorna, kar veliko vpliva na moj razvoj in predstave."

Ste se navadili na življenje v Ljubljani? Kakšno se vam zdi samo mesto in kako preživljate prosti čas? S katerim soigralcem se najbolj pogosto družite?

"Ljubljana je zelo lepo in mirno mesto za življenje. V svoji karieri sem preživel že tri sezone v tujini, zato sem se zelo hitro privadil na novo sredino. Zaradi natrpanega urnika tekem nisem imel veliko priložnosti za druge aktivnosti. Prosti čas večinoma porabim za počitek in regeneracijo."

Kakšne želje, povezane s tekmovalnimi cilji, imate za leto 2017?

"V 2017 si želim, da bi bil zdrav, saj le tako lahko nadaljujem, da dajem svoj maksimum in čim bolje pomagam ekipi. Cilj je, da vsako tekmo odigramo po najboljših močeh, potem pa bomo videli kam nas bo to pripeljalo."

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