Branislav Prelević

Bane Prelević

Personal information
Born	(1966-12-19) 19 December 1966 (age 57) Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian / Greek
Listed height	6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	1988: undrafted
Playing career	1986–2000
Position	Shooting guard
Number	7, 8
Coaching career	2001–2008
Career history
As player:
1986–1988	Crvena zvezda
1988–1996	PAOK
1996–1997	Kinder Bologna
1997–1999	AEK
1999–2000	PAOK
As coach:
2001–2002	PAOK (assistant)
2002–2005	PAOK
2007–2008	Ionikos Lamias
Career highlights and awards
As player FIBA Saporta Cup champion (1991) FIBA Saporta Cup Top Scorer (1992) 3× FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer (1991, 1992, 1996) FIBA Korać Cup champion (1994) Greek League champion (1992) Greek Cup winner (1995) Greek Cup Finals MVP (1995) Greek Cup Top Scorer (1995) No. 7 retired by PAOK 3× Greek League All-Star (1991, 1994 II, 1996 I) Italian Cup winner (1997) Italian Cup MVP (1997)
Medals Men's basketball Representing  Yugoslavia FIBA Europe U16 Championship 1983 West Germany Under-16

Branislav Prelević or Mpranislav Prelevits (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранислав Прелевић, Greek: Μπράνισλαβ Πρέλεβιτς; born 19 December 1966) is a retired Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He is commonly referred to by his nickname Bane (Serbian Cyrillic: Бане, Greek: Μπάνε).

Prelević was born to ethnic Serb parents in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). He holds both Serbian and Greek citizenship.^[1] His family originated from the Bjelopavlići clan. His maternal great grandfather was born in Eratyra and he had the surname Alvanos.^[2]

He is married to Nevena Prelević-Marjanović (born 26 April 1967, daughter of legendary Yugoslavian and Serbian pop singer Đorđe Marjanović), and he has two children, named Anna and Tea. Anna was elected Miss Greece in 2010, and she represented Greece at Miss Universe 2010.

Prelević started his career with Crvena zvezda (Red Star Belgrade).

In 1988, at age 21, Prelević moved to Greece in order to be able to play for PAOK Thessaloniki, where he spent eight seasons.

Then 21-year-old Prelević debuted in the 1988–89 season. He became the definitive leader and a fan favorite, often compared to the great Nikos Galis, who was at the time the captain of Aris. Prelević was often quoted for his loyalty to the team. He had a number of injuries and medical emergencies because of weak legs, but he would constantly choose to take heavy dosages of painkillers, rather than missing out on any important games.

While playing with PAOK, Prelević won the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup, when PAOK defeated CAI Zaragoza in Geneva, by a score of 76–72 on 26 March 1991.

The next season, Prelević was again the leader of PAOK, and the team reached the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup final again, but they lost to Real Madrid, by a score of 63–65.^[3] In the same season, PAOK won the Greek League championship, beating out Olympiacos.

Prelević participated in the EuroLeague for the first time, in the 1992–93 season, and managed to reach the Athens 1993 EuroLeague Final Four. PAOK lost in the semifinal game to Benetton Treviso, which was led by superstar Toni Kukoč, by a score of 77–79.^[4]

In 1994, Prelević and PAOK returned to European-wide success by winning the FIBA Korać Cup two-leg final against Stefanel Trieste, winning both at home and away by 9 points.^[5] The following year, PAOK won the Greek Cup, in a 19-point victory against Panionios, by a score of 72–53. In 1996, he was a FIBA European Cup finalist.^[6]

In 1996, Prelević moved to Italy to play with Virtus Bologna (called Kinder Bologna at the time for sponsorship reasons).^[7]

In 1997, Prelević returned to Greece and played with AEK Athens. Prelević reached the EuroLeague Final Four in Barcelona in 1998, where his team beat Benetton Treviso in the semis, by a score of 69–66, before losing in the final to Kinder Bologna, by a score of 44–58.^[8] In 1998 and 1999, Prelević was a Greek Cup finalist.

In 1999, Prelević returned to PAOK, and he then quit playing professional basketball at the end of the season.^[9]

In 1983, Prelević was part of the Yugoslavia Under-16 national team that won the gold medal at the 1983 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Germany. That team included, alongside Prelević, players such as Žarko Paspalj, Jure Zdovc, Luka Pavićević, Ivo Nakić, and Miroslav Pecarski.^[10] He was selected to compete FR Yugoslavia national team at the 1992 Olympic Tournament, but Yugoslavia's participation eventually suspended due to the Yugoslav War.

Prelević later returned to PAOK in the 2001–02 season, as an assistant basketball coach. He was then the head coach of PAOK, from 2002 to 2005. He then went on to become the President of the club, from 2011 until 2019.

• PAOK:
  • Greek League Champion: (1992)
  • Greek Cup Winner: (1995)
  • 3× Greek League All-Star: (1991, 1994 II, 1996 I)
  • FIBA Saporta Cup (European Cup Winners' Cup) Champion: (1991)
  • FIBA Saporta Cup Top Scorer: (1992)
  • 3× FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer: (1991, 1992, 1996)
  • FIBA Korać Cup Champion: (1994)
• Virtus Bologna:
  • Italian Cup Winner: (1997)

• FIBA EuroLeague Profile
• FIBA Profile
• FIBA Europe Profile
• Eurobasket.com Profile