Vlado Giankovits and his mantra “Working hard every day to become a better player and man” (VIDEO)

The new season of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague is marked by a new generation of young player that already showed their quality in the young International Tournament in the last years, but now they seem ready to take the control in the major European competition. We’re talking about guys like Saric, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Abrines, Alessandro Gentile and so on. Among them there is one that probably is not so famous like the previous ones because, despite his age (24years), his developing is not completed but in the last two years he’s starting to move towards the top of the Europe, Vlantimir “Vlado” Giankovits.

Serbian player, he was born in Beograd in 1990, he moved in Greece when he was 2 years old with his parents, because his father wanted to run in a new adventure at Panionios Athens. Boban Jankovic, that the youngest guy remember unfortunately only for the tragic episode in which he remained paralyzed, was at the top of his fantastic career when he moved in Greece and only one year at Panonios was sufficient to take place in the history of the club. As Vlado, today, remembers “my father was well known before his accident. He was a great player in the former Yugoslavia and a legend for Crvena Zvezda. He could make triple double figure just for… fun! When he played for Panionios he scored 41 points in Rome against Virtus and he was a star in the Greek League, which was the best League in Europe at that time with players like Gallis, Yannakis, Christodoulou, Fasoulas, Vrankovic, Komazec, Tarpley, PJ Brown, Paspalj, Berry, Ortiz and so many others” . Panionios for Vlado is not only a team, is a family, and for him was natural to start from this team his professional career in 2007. After only one year he moved in Serbia, to improve his experience and then he came back in the former team of his father for 4 years, in which he improved year by year, until won in 2013 the award as Most Improved Player in Greece. In the meantime he declared himself eligible for the NBA in 2012, and in 2013 the first big step, signing for Panathinaikos. Last year not a big impact but the new season is started in a different way and the feelings of Vlado with the team and teammates is increasing “I am a hard worker and ambitious player. I think that you have to challenge your luck if you want success. I think that everybody can be successful if always is following his dreams, having self confidence and working hard. I want to be a better player and a better person through basketball. Day by day I want to become better through practices and I am very lucky because I have great teammates and also a great coaching staff. They believe in me and I believe in them. “

In the video, from the Youtube profile of Vlado Giankovits, a short-movie about the story of the player

Vlado has a double passport but he decided to join with the National teams in which he grew up “I played in all youth teams of the Greek National Team. I grew inside these teams. I had teammates with whom we became friends even if we were playing at the same club, like Nikos Pappas, or in an opponent club. Everybody loves me here and I have no reason to do a different choice.” Many years spent in Panionios and everyone asked him to wear the N.8, like his father, but he had no idea to do this “Panionios has retired N. 8 of my father and this is a great feeling. I have the best memories from Panionios, they respect my father and they treat me great when I played there. Everybody still loves my father in Greece.” Until this year at Pana “For me it was very important to play with this number. It is an honor to my father and makes me feel that I have to become a better player and a better person in every day of my life”. In his life Vlado has been very lucky to meet great basketball person, like Alvertis. Former player and coach of Panathinaikos had a very important role in the grown of Giankovits “Coach Alvertis had played for two decades to the top level. He is a legend not only for Panathinaikos but also for European basketball. He won 5 Euroleague titles as a player. He knows better than anyone else what a player needs in order to compete at the top level. He knows better than anyone else how a team can become champion or successful. And we won the Greek Championship under Alvertis because he knew very well what we needed. “

But the story goes on and Vlado is very lucky to have the possibility to be coached by one of the most demanding coach in Europe, like the young greek guy confirms “Coach Ivanovic wants you to work! He is a hard worker too. He is a great coach and everybody knows that. He was successful in Vitoria and many of his players managed to not only to play in the NBA but also for many years and with success. Coach Ivanovic demands 100% from every player. This is normal because every player has to give his 100%… It is not strange. He is always ready to help his players and he is a great personality. Don’t forget that he was the captain of the great Yugoplastika, among players like Kukoc, Radja, Perasovic, Tabak, Sretenovic, Pavicevic and under a real demanding coach, Boza Malkovic.” Dusko Ivanovic asks 100% from his players to reach the results, but which results? “We don’t want to talk about goals. We want to be focus in every practice and every game. At the end we will see what we have done”.

By the way, Vlado knows to have done the better choice because “The club has started a plan with young Greek players. They have collecting a group of young players, which are very talented and hard workers.” Not only this, also for another important reason “because we play at the perfect environment because Diamantidis is the best captain for every team. Everybody is learning from Dimitris… Also there is a coach who loves to work with young players. The officials are having the know-how after so many years at the top, to make this team big and also make proud our fans.” Clear ideas in the mind but only one aim, continuously repeated “We are ambitious. But at this moment our goal is the…next practice! Day by day we want to become better players. “. Good-bye Vlado, have a nice practice, because tomorrow there is the Barça, a big game against another big team, to continue your basketball life, to improve day by day your skills to reach a level that your father had touch, and exceeded.

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