During a 15-year professional basketball career, Klemen Prepelic has experienced the highs and lows that often come with elite-level sport. In fact, he's endured those contrasting fortunes in the space of 34 seconds.
It was the semi-finals of the Olympics in Tokyo three years ago. Slovenia, a nation of just two million people but blessed with a golden basketball generation, trailed France by four points as the clock ticked down. Prepelic found space on the edge of the three-point line and drained his shot.
The gap reduced to a single point, Slovenia kept France from extending their lead and surged to the other end of the court in search of a dramatic winning basket.
I would really love to see people in the Coca-Cola Arena support us
Klemen Prepelic,
captain, Dubai Basketball
Luka Doncic, the NBA superstar who has transformed the Dallas Mavericks franchise, passed the ball to Prepelic, who spotted space inside the France paint, dribbled at speed to the basket and released the ball for a lay-up in the final second. His shot was blocked, sending France into the gold-medal game against the USA and consigning Slovenia to battle for bronze with Australia.
Despite their comparatively small talent pool, there were few surprises that Slovenia had come so close to the Olympic title game. This was a team that a few years earlier were sensational to win the 2017 EuroBasket, and even without the absent Goran Dragic – Slovenia's other NBA stalwart – in Tokyo, remained a talented and well-drilled side.
Doncic was, of course, the star man and headline act, but in terms of importance to his national team, Prepelic is very much his equal.
“We were performing well. We were one lay-up away from the final of the Olympic Games, where I was blocked by Nicolas [Batum]. This is probably one of the hardest moments of my career,” Prepelic told The National.
“So, two of my best and the worst memories about basketball come from the national team. I'm very proud to perform for my country and if I’m healthy and they want me to play for the national team, I will always be available for them.”
Following the Tokyo heartbreak, Prepelic returned to club duties with Valencia in Spain, where he remained until 2023. Short stints at home with Olimpija and at Turkish giants Galatasaray followed before a unique opportunity presented itself to join, and become the captain of, a historic new franchise being formed in the UAE.
Dubai Basketball, or Dubai BC for short, are set to become the first team from the UAE to compete in a major European league when they begin their ABA League season against defending champions Red Star at the Coca-Cola Arena on Sunday.
“It’s a great honour and privilege for me to lead the team into this historic occasion and put the city of Dubai on the international basketball map,” Prepelic said. “This is an exciting new project that I have never experienced before. It’s the same for the entire squad and we are greatly looking forward to it and will do our best to put up a show in every game we play.”
Prepelic signed a two-year contract with the option of a one-year extension, bringing some “calm” and clarity to his immediate future following what he described as a “very difficult” 2023 summer while still at Valencia.
“I didn't have the right contract, the right opportunity that would satisfy me, and I was waiting at home until the very last months of the summer,” he said. “Then I ended up playing in my hometown for Olympija for a month and then joined Galatasaray in Turkey.
“So I wanted to have a pretty calm summer this summer, and I had a very good reaction from Dubai. Coach Yuric [Golemac] called me almost at the same point when he signed me with the club. He explained my role.
“The club made an incredible effort to bring me in. So, huge respect for [general manager] Dejan [Kamenjasevic] and the coach, and obviously, it's a pleasure for me to be part of this unique first season for Dubai.”
Prepelic will lead a multinational team comprising 12 players from nine countries. He has three teammates from Serbia, two from the United States, and one each from Italy, Turkey, Jordan, the Philippines, Croatia, and Latvia. The roster was bolstered last week by the arrival of experienced NBA player Davis Bertans.
It really is a unique challenge that Prepelic faces as the captain of such a cosmopolitan team, based in Dubai, competing in a league otherwise made up of clubs from the former Yugoslavia. But a career spent at the highest level of European basketball, while being co-captain alongside Doncic for his national team, has equipped him to handle the responsibility.
“They give you this winning mentality and competitiveness,” he said of sharing a court with former Miami Heat star Dragic and Doncic. “Goran and Luka are way different. Goran is all about practice; huge professional, really likes to practice and perform on a daily basis.
“Luka is completely different, the complete opposite. He's a huge talent, a very rare one born in the last hundred years. He gives you the unique experience of playing with the best players in the world. I'm very happy to be alongside him.”
Dubai BC may be about to make history as the first professional UAE-based club to compete in a European league, but basketball has long been immensely popular in the Emirates thanks to the large Arab and Filipino communities who play and closely follow the sport.
It gives Prepeplic, his teammates, and the entire Dubai BC organisation both the additional responsibility of representing the UAE's basketball community and striving to ensure the fans turn out for offer their support.
“I was playing at the World Cup last year in the Philippines with the Slovenian national team, and I saw how passionate they are for basketball,” he said. “Probably, as a nation, the Philippines are the most passionate, I saw it with my own eyes.
“And Arabic people, they really want to to bring the best sports to this part of the world. They invest huge amount of money in facilities and we're really looking forward to performing for them, to try to help them understand the game of basketball.
“I would really love to see people in the Coca-Cola Arena support us. I have played for some of the huge clubs with huge bases of fans, and the national team, we always have a packed gym. As a basketball player for sure it's way easier at home to play in front of a good crowd and sold-out gyms.”
As for his expectations for Dubai BC's inaugural season, Prepelic is being both realistic and ambitious. “I know the league, I know the courts, I know the fans, I know the referees, so I'm pretty familiar with everything,” he said. “I would say, it's more than realistic [to be among] the best four teams in the league.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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MATCH INFO
Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')
Germany 1
Ozil (11')
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
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Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
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Rating: Four stars
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What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Honeymoonish
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All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
