November MVP: Miro Bilan – "We can win the rings this season"

By looking at the scores, it is not difficult to find out which team stood out in November in the ABA League and, since he was the one that led the way in every aspect for the Zagreb team, Miro Bilan of Cedevita is named the MVP of November in the regional competition.

Cedevita have remained the only unbeaten team in the ABA League, as far November is concerned and their leader on court, center Miro Bilan is named the MVP of the month in the regional competition.

In the five games, in which he led the team from Dom sportova to victories over Tajfun, Mega Leks, Union Olimpija, Metalac Farmakom and Partizan NIS, Bilan averaged 13 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1 steal and the valuation of 18.8 which puts him on top amongst all individuals this month.

The Dalmatian big man spoke about the season so far, his expectations and Cedevita in general in the interview for our website. Read it below.

November has been a tremendous month for you, both in Euroleague and ABA League, where Cedevita was the only team without a defeat suffered. What contributed to your fantastic streak in the given moment?

"I believe that, with all due respect to the others, Cedevita currently plays the most beautiful basketball and that our team chemistry might be the best in the entire league and the consequences are the results that you are talking about. We are all devoted one to another, no one forces anything and in the games we are always searching the player that is in the best current shape to keep us going. The head coach played an important role in all of this. He does not allow us to get too relaxed, especially after the triumphs in the Euroleague, after which it is sometimes difficult to motivate yourself to a game that follows only two days after, for instance. However, this is good for us and I can only hope for it to last."

You are now playing for Cedevita for several years - where do you see the main strength of this team and how different it is from the other Cedevita teams from the past few years?

"It is much different. Until now, Cedevita has always been a team with vast individual quality, however this season, I think, we are the best team so far. And you know that as far as team sports are concerned, the best and the most expensive do not win always, but most oftenly those with the best team spirit. The main strength of this team is versatility and the fact that the youngest players play their part and give their best on court, while we experienced players play constantly well and give them a chance to lean on us."

What is your most beautiful memory of the time spent in Cedevita so far?

"There are many of them, but I believe that I will remember Nolan Smith's three pointer from the semi-final game against Partizan NIS in the last second forever. I remember and proudly keep every trophies that I have won with Cedevita, especially since they were the first for me in my senior career and I believe that this year we are ready to win the ABA League trophy, which is the only one missing for me so far. Besides that, we have beaten all Euroleague giants from our group except Olympiacos, which will also become one of the nicest memories."

You have stood out as one of the best individuals in the ABA League, not only in your playing position, but in general as well. Do you feel like you are at the peak of your career, or is the best yet to come in the remainder of the season?

"I would be glad if my best seasons are yet to come and if this was only a step towards it. In my career I have never jumped over any stairs, always went on step by step and therefore I wish to believe that the best is yet to come. Nothing has been given to me, I have fought for every single thing, exclusively with my work and I believe that my best basketball years are coming up."

How much does the fact, that you play in the same position on the team as your national team teammate Luka Žorić and what is your cooperation like?

"It is excellent. Žora is an experienced Euroleague center and with his presence and contribution he gives us the stability in every aspect. I think that as players, we are different and are combined well on the team."

What is your comment regarding the battle for the top in ABA League. Four teams have so far stood out. Does Cedevita have enough strength this season to reach the top, after playing in finals for three times over the past seasons?

"I believe that we do. Season is still young, it is still only an end of the first par and there are enough games for things to get complicated. We are only looking at ourselves and will try to finish the season with the smallest number of defeats, since our position in the battle fort he championship trophy would be the best possible. I already mentioned that we are ready to win the ABA League. For me personally this is a huge challenge and I believe that if we manage to maintain this chemistry, we can win the rings this season."

The Zagreb fans have recognized your quality lately and your games in all of the competitions have attracted larger crowds than in the past. What is the feeling like to play with this kind of a support from the stands?

"It can not be described. Given that I am not used to the fact that our arena is sold out and that even hundreds of people fail to buy a ticked, I must admit that something like that is awesome and not difficult to get used to. On the other hand, we can see that victories and good results bring people to the game and now we know what to do in order to attract them."

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MVP studenog: Miro Bilan - "Ove sezone možemo do prstena"

Kada pogledamo rezultate, nije teško vidjeti koja ekipa se izdvojila u studenom u ABA ligi i, pošto je bio vođa zagrebačke ekipe u svakom pogledu, Miro Bilan iz Cedevite je izabran za MVP studenog u regionalnom natjecanju.

Cedevita je jedina neporažena momčad u ABA ligi u studenom i njezin vođa na parketu, centar Miro Bilan, izabran je za najkorisnijeg igrača mjeseca u regionalnom natjecanju.

U pet utakmica, u kojima je predvodio ekipu iz Doma sporotva do pobjeda nad Tajfunom, Mega Leksom, Union Olimpijom, Metalcem Farmakom i Partizanom NIS, Bilan je u prosjeku postizao 13 poena, 7,6 skokova, 2,6 dodavanja, 1 ukradenu loptu i indeks 18,8, koji ga postavlja na vrh među svim igračima prošlog mjeseca.

Dalmatinski centar pričao je o dosadašnjem delu sezone, svojim očekivanjima i Cedeviti uopšte u intervjuu za našu zvaničnu internetnu stranicu. Pročitajte ga ispod.

Iza vas je izvanredan mesec dana, kako u Evroligi, tako i u ABA ligi, gde je Cedevita u mesecu novembru jedini neporaženi tim. šta je po vašem mišljenju dovelo do ove fantastične forme u ovom trenutku?

"Mislim da, bez podcjenjivanja drugih, Cedevita trenutno igra najljepšu košarku i da je naša timska kemija možda najbolja u ligi, a posljedica toga su onda i rezultati koje spominjete. Podređeni smo jedan drugom, nitko ne forsira i na utakmicama uvijek tražimo onoga tko je u tom trenutku najraspoloženiji da nas povuče. Odigrao je važnu ulogu u tom svemu i trener, koji nam ne dozvoljava da se opustimo, pogotovo ne nakon pobjeda u Euroligi, nakon kojih se ponekad teško motivirati za utakmicu koja je, primjerice, samo dva dana nakon. No, i to nam polazi za rukom i mogu samo poželjeti da to potraje što duže."

Uz Cedevitu ste već dugi niz godina - gde vidite glavnu snagu ove ekipe i kako se ona razlikuje od preostalih ekipa Cedevite iz prošlih sezona?

"Puno se razlikuje. Do sada je Cedevita bila ekipa s puno individualne kvalitete, no ove smo godine, čini mi se, najbolji tim do sada, a znate da u timskim športovima ne pobjeđuju nužno najbolji i najskuplji, nego najčešće oni koji s najboljim ekipnim duhom. Glavna snaga naše ekipe leži u raznovrsnosti, u činjenici da i najmlađi donose prevagu i daju svoj maksimum, ali i u tome da mi stariji imamo konstantu i da se na nas svi mogu osloniti."

Koje je za ovo vreme najlepše sećanje koje vas veže za Cedevitu?

"Puno ih je, ali mislim da ću zauvijek pamtiti tricu Nolana Smitha u polufinalnom meču protiv Partizana NIS u zadnjoj sekundi utakmice. Pamtim i s ponosom čuvam sve trofeje koje sam osvojio s Cedevitom, pogotovo što su mi to bili prvi u seniorskoj karijeri i mislim da smo ove godine zreli i za naslov ABA lige, samo mi on nedostaje u vitrini s medaljama. Osim toga, ove godine srušili smo, izuzev Olympiacosa, sve europske velikane u našoj skupini u Euroligi i to sigurno ide u rubriku lijepih sjećanja."

Vi ste se izdvojili kao jedan od najboljih pojedinaca u ABA ligi, ne samo na centarskoj poziciji nego uopšte. Da li osećate da ste na vrhu svoje dosadašnje karijere ili još dolazi najbolje u nastavku sezone?

"Volio bih da moje najbolje sezone tek trebaju doći i da je ovo samo zalet prema tome. U karijeri nikada nisam preskakao stepenice, uvijek sam išao korak po korak i zato s pravom želim vjerovati da najbolje tek slijedi. Ništa mi nije poklonjeno, za sve sam se izborio sam, isključivo radom, i vjerujem da su moje najbolje košarkaške godine ispred mene."

Koliko vam kod vaših igara pomaže činjenica, da na centarskoj poziciji igrate zajedno sa reprezentativnim saigračem Lukom Žorićem i kakva je vaša saradnja?

"Odlična. Žora je iskusan euroligaški centar i svojim nam prisustvom i doprinosom daje sigurnost u svakom smislu. Mislim da smo igrački različiti i da se dobro nadopunjujemo."

Kako komentarišete situaciju u borbi za vrh u ABA ligi? Četiri ekipe su se za sada izdvojile od ostalih. Da li Cedevita ove sezone ima dovoljno snage da se popne na sam vrh, nakon tri ućešća u finalima u ranijim sezonama?

"Vjerujem da ima. Sezona je još mlada, tek je kraj prvog dijela i ima još dovoljno utakmica da se stvari zakompliciraju. Mi gledamo samo sebe i truditi ćemo se sezonu okončati sa što manje poraza, kako bi nam pozicija za borbu za naslov bila što bolja. Rekao sam već, zreli smo za osvajanje Aba lige, meni osobno to je veliki motiv i vjerujem da, zadržimo li ovu kemiju koju sada imamo, ove godine možemo do prstena."

Zagrebačka publika je prepoznala vaš kvalitet u poslednje vreme i vaše utakmice su u svim takmičenjima posećenije, nego što je to bio slučaj u prošlosti. Kakav je osećaj sa ovakvom podrškom sa tribina?

"Neopisiv. S obzirom da nisam navikao da na našim utakmicama dvorana bude puna i da stotine ljudi čak ostanu ispred nje, moram reći da se na ovakvo nešto nije teško naviknuti. S druge strane, vidimo da pobjede i dobri rezultati dovode ljude na utakmice, pa sada znamo što nam je činiti."