INTERVIEW: Nemanja Vranješ – “We’ll try to upset Crvena zvezda”
Mornar shooting guard Nemanja Vranješ and his teammates are in front of the biggest challenge of their careers – They are about to face the reigning ABA League champions Crvena zvezda mts in the best of 3 semi-final series.
Nemanja Vranjes (Photo: Crvena zvezda mts)
Nemanja Vranješ is having one of the best seasons of his life. He was part of the team which have managed to take Mornar in the ABA League Playoffs for the first time in club’s history, while now Vranješ and Co. are in front of the biggest challenge of their careers – They are about to face the reigning ABA League champions Crvena zvezda mts in the best of 3 semi-final series.
For the first time in history Mornar will play in the ABA League Playoffs. Does that fact make you proud?
“I think that everyone in the club are very proud of this success. Now you see all the effort that brothers Pavićević have put into this club. Simply, we are all enjoying playing basketball in Mornar.”
Can you feel the euphoria in Bar in front of the most important part of the season? Do you expect that local gym Topolica will be fully packed for the upcoming games?
"Yes, all around the town you can see that the people are euphoric and that they can hardly wait for the start of the semi-final series, as we are about to face an EuroLeague giant. Playing against a team such Crvena zvezda mts is just perfectly fits out most successful season ever. I am convinced that our gym will be fully packed for Game 2.”
In the 2nd part of the 2017/18 regular season, Mornar were among the best teams in the league. Do you have enough strength to keep up with the same rhythm in the Playoffs?
“In the 1st part of the season we have just started building our game. Therefore, we suffered some unexpected defeats in that period, however over the time our game started getting better and better. Now, I can say that we are playing some good basketball and the others should fear us for good reason. I am sure that we will pick up where we left off in the regular season, although we are very sorry that our starting center Uroš Luković got injured. His injury is a huge blow for us, but that’s all part of the sport and we must keep looking forward.”
You suffered two defeats against Crvena zvezda mts in the regular season. Do you think that the outcome will be different now?
“Crvena zvezda mts is the main favorite for winning the ABA League. For us, being in a position to play against an EuroLeague team two or three games in the ABA League Semi-Finals is a reward for everything we have done in this season. The only thing that is certain in front of this semi-final series is that we are not going to surrender without a fight. On the contrary, we will try to attack the rival and to pull off a major upset.”
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INTERVJU: Nemanja Vranješ - "Pokušaćemo da iznenadimo Crvenu zvezdu"
Nemanja Vranješ aktuelni je reprezentativac Crne Gore. Ove sezone doživio je punu afirmaciju sjajnim igrama u dresu Mornara. Njegove "trojke" dodatno su mobilisale ekipu i podizale samopouzdanje saigračima.
Profesionalnu karijeru započeo je u ondašnjem Ibonu iz Nikšića, a zatim je igrao u dresu Hercegovca iz Bileće, Borca iz Banjaluke, bio internacionalac u Grčkoj (Pargrati) i Makedoniji (Kumanovo), da bi karijeru nastavio u crnogorskim ekipama Sutjeska iz Nikšića, Budućnost i Mornar.
Prvi put u istoriji Mornara zaigraćete u plej-ofu ABA lige. Šta to znači za vaš tim, da li vas čini ponosnim?
“Mislim da smo svi u klubu jako ponosni na ovaj uspjeh. Kvalitet rada braće Pavićević, tokom čitave sezone, isplivao je na vidjelo. Jednostavno, sada svi u klubu uživamo i, zapravo, igramo se košarke.”
Da li se u Baru osjeća euforija prije početka najbitnijeg dijela sezone? Da li u predstojećim mečevima očekujete punu dvoranu "Topolica"?
“Ogromna je euforija u gradu i veliko intersovanje publike, jer u plej-ofu igramo sa evroligaškim gigantom. U našu najuspješniju sezonu u istoriji lijepo se uklopilo ime Crvene zvezde. Siguran sam da će "Topolica" u revanšu biti mala da primi sve zainteresovane ljubitelje košarke.”
U drugom dijelu sezone vi kao tim ste blistali i bili među najboljima u ABA ligi. Imate li snage da nastavite u tom ritmu i u plej-ofu?
“Mi smo u prvom dijelu sezone gradili našu igru. U početku i nije bilo baš najbolje, imali smo nekih neočekivanih poraza, ali kako je vrijeme odmicalo, kako smo počeli zacrtano da sprovodimo na terenu, tako je i naša igra bila sve bolja. Sada igramo jednu dobru košarku i sa razlogom bi trebalo svi da nas se plaše. Siguran sam da ćemo nastaviti u istom stilu, iako ostaje veliki žal što se naš najbolji igrač Uroš Luković povrijedio. Njegov izostanak je jako veliki hendikep, ali i to je sport i mi idemo dalje.”
Protiv Crvene zvezde MTS u ovoj sezoni doživjeli ste dva poraza. Da li se nadate iznenađenju u polufnalnoj seriji i kakva su vaša očekivanja prije novih duela sa "crveno-belima"?
“Crvena zvezda je favorit za osvajanje ABA lige. Nama je velika nagrada za sve uspjehe u ovoj sezoni to što igramo protiv evroligaškog tima dvije ili tri utakmice u polufinalu ABA lige. Sigurno je jedino da i ne mislimo na predaju unaprijed, naprotiv, pokušaćemo da napadnemo Zvezdu i napravimo iznenađenje.”
