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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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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More coverage from the Future Forum
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
The years Ramadan fell in May
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Fixtures
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UAE%20athletes%20heading%20to%20Paris%202024
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
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
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
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
The five pillars of Islam
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS
Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)
