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By: Milan Prodanovic / @milanproda

Just a quick entry to update my current situation…

My club is doing pretty well, after two tough losses to league powerhouses FMP and OKK Belgrade, we managed to get a big win against Borac from Cacak. I have been playing much better lately, shooting over 50 percent from the three, and close to 60% overall. Hopefully my play continues as we fight for a chance at the Super League.

STANDINGS, PHASE 1 TG W L P+ P-
1 FMP 20 19 1 1757 1383
2 OKK Beograd 20 15 5 1657 1502
3 Metalac 20 13 7 1615 1548
4 Mega Vizura 20 13 7 1740 1699
5 Tamiš 20 11 9 1411 1408
6 Novi Sad 20 11 9 1611 1599
7 Proleter Naftagas 20 9 11 1596 1679
8 Sloga 20 9 11 1627 1628
9 Sloboda 20 9 11 1525 1606
10 Napredak Rubin 20 8 12 1535 1536
11 Vojvodina Srbijagas 20 8 12 1390 1492
12 Borac 20 8 12 1444 1550
13 Crnokosa 20 6 14 1594 1697
14 Superfund BP 20 1 19 1524 1699

Courtesy of Euroleague.net.

Some quick basketball notes…Borac plays a four guard offense, switches all pick and rolls, and employs a lot of mix-up zone traps and blitzes. Coach Kevin Willard (my college coach at Iona and currently at Seton Hall) often had us trapping the ball at odd times, confusing the offense. Borac applied a similar style of defense, but I handled it well after the initial few plays. We ended up winning by 6 points, 77-71.

The Serbian A league is full of young talent. Next week we play Kraljevo (Vlade Divac’s old club), a team with a similar record to ours. They are led by Aleksandar Vlahovic, who is an electric point guard. He has the ability to score in bunches, often tallying up to 25 points a game.

Last but not least, as the end of league play gets closer, the best players stay on top of their games and perform as if it were the first game of the season. Getting those extra shots after practice, taking the extra time to do therapy, and going over scouting reports all play a role in who wins the close games down the stretch. Petar Lambic, a young (very young!) 18-year-old prospect that plays with me in Proleter does everything I mentioned above and more. And the results are positive: around 10 points a game with a 12 index, or value rating.

Oh, and thank god for ESPN Europe! Without you, I would have missed the Super Bowl!

Follow Milan’s journey here on ELA.