Milko Bjelica
Milko Bjelica ( Serbian Cyrillic Милко Бьелица; born June 4, 1984 in Belgrade ) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player. Having first played until 2006 in his hometown of Red Star, he was followed by two years active in the German Basketball Bundesliga. He then played three years with the Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas from Vilnius BC, with which he reached in 2009 a " Quadruple " with title wins in the national league and cup, Baltic Basketball League and ULEB Eurocup. After another double in 2010 he played from 2011 to two and a half years at the club Caja Laboral Basque in the Spanish ACB League. At the beginning of 2014 he moved to the Türkiye Ligi to Anadolu Efes SK Basketbol.
Career
Bjelica played from the 2001/02 season in the first team of Red Star Belgrade in the Serbian- Montenegrin highest league. A year later he made his debut in the supranational Adriatic League after there the teams of Serbia and Montenegro were admitted. With Red Star he could win the national cup twice in 2004 & 2006 and reach the championship 2006 final, which was lost against the local rivals and defending champions KK Partizan Belgrade. In the ULEB Cup in 2006 they reached the quarter- final, which was lost to the eventual winners MBK Dynamo Moscow.
For BBL season 2006/ 07 Bjelica moved to the NewYorker Phantoms in the German Bundesliga to Brunswick, who had committed the Bosnian coach Emir Mutapcic the same time. The desired turnaround for the bottom team of the preseason, who had only held by an increase in the league the class could be achieved only conditionally; Although it had nothing to do with the descent, but the play-off places could also not clear can be achieved. For the next BBL season 2007/ 08 Bjelica moved to league rivals and reigning Cup champion 99ers from Cologne. The Cologne had to cope with the loss of their main sponsor and had to file for bankruptcy in January 2008. While many of the foreign professionals left the club, Bjelica played the season with the Cologne to an end, but their chances declining as through the resulting turmoil on a play- off place.
For the 2008/ 09 season Bjelica changed in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius Lietuvos Rytas to BC, with whom he remained ultimately victorious in all competitions in which the club took part. The following season it was by winning the ULEB Cup and the championship in the highest European League ULEB Euro League 2009/10 allowed to play where you failed in the second round of the sixteen best teams just outside the catchment. This was achieved in the ULEB Euro Cup 2010/ 11, in which we already saw the quarter-finals in reach than one home lost the last and decisive game against Caja Laboral intermediate round, the resulting over yet attracted to the Lithuanians. At the national level, it was inferior to the " eternal rival " Zalgiris Kaunas in league and cup in that season.
His first finals appearance for the Montenegrin national basketball team was then the European Championship finals in 2011 in Lithuania. After a victory in extra time in the opening game against the regional competitors Macedonia who entered in the tournament as a surprise team to the semifinals, Montenegro lost all four games remaining and already retired from in the first round. For the following season had him already in July 2011, his Montenegrin compatriot Dusko Ivanovic, coach of Caja Laboral, brought in the Spanish ACB League. After the end of his two-year contract Bjelica was given a new fixed-term contract until the end until November 2013. After the end of this contract signed him the Turkish Anadolu Efes SK giants from Istanbul, as the Laboral Kutxa is still represented in the Round of 16 of the best teams in the highest European club competition ULEB Euro League 2013/14.
Family
His older sister Milka (* 1981 ) is also a Montenegrin player selection.