Departure to Mega and partnership with Rudan
Due to the well-known financial issues of Cibona, it was impossible to keep the team together. Given Brankovic’s height of 216 cm and his exceptional shot-blocking abilities, along with his capability to stretch the floor, it was inevitable for Mega to bring him on board.
“It was fantastic in Mega because it’s a club dedicated to the development of young players, and as such, it was the perfect place for me. They gave me the most important thing at this stage of my career, and that’s confidence.”
His center partner there was Matej Rudan, with whom he had an excellent understanding. They were a combination that shot well from the outside, controlled rebounds, and blocked opponents’ shots. An interesting connection is that Rudan played for Bayern before joining Mega.
“Rudan introduced me to Belgrade, and I’m very grateful for that. He had a lot to say about Munich, the coaches, and the staff, making it even easier for me to get to know them.”
“Serge Ibaka has emerged as a mentor to me, and I’m learning a lot from him”
The young Croatian arrived at Bayern at a challenging time. Starting this season, the seasoned center Serge Ibaka decided to return to the EuroLeague. A man who, throughout his career, shared the locker room with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Gasol brothers…
Oklahoma City Thunder, with three former NBA MVPs but without Ibaka, would have had a challenging time reaching the finals, as Ibaka was an integral part of the starting five. A two-time NBA blocks leader and a three-time member of the All-Defensive Team, Ibaka has played a crucial role alongside the Gasol brothers in winning European gold and Olympic silver.
While they share similar characteristics, excelling as shot-blockers and having the ability to stretch the floor with their shooting, Serge Ibaka comes with the pedigree of being one of the best NBA defenders of the last decade, giving him an advantage over Brankovic.
“Serge Ibaka has emerged as a mentor to me, and I’m learning a lot from him. After practice, we often stay to play one-on-one and work on post-up plays. After games, we hit the gym for even more improvement. Serge has a lot of advice on how to enhance my game and life habits,” shared the young center from Bayern, offering an interesting insight.
“Josip Sesar brought a very refreshing approach to the coaching position, and under him, we played a more liberated and beautiful style of basketball…”
Under the coaching leadership of Josip Sesar, the Croatian national team had a perfect summer, with a commendable record of 12-0. Danko Branković also contributed to the team’s success, although he unfortunately didn’t participate in the pre-qualification tournament for the Olympic Games.
“The summer with Sesar was excellent. Josip Sesar brought a very refreshing approach to the coaching position, and under him, we played a more liberated and beautiful style of basketball. I don’t know exactly how he implemented it, but he managed to bring out the most valuable aspects of each player’s game.
Being a natonal team member is a tremendous opportunity and honor, but this summer caught me after a long season and very little rest following several injuries. For the sake of my health, I asked coach Sesar to excuse me from that tournament,” explained Danko Brankovic.
The former center of Cibona and Mega has a healthy perspective on the competition within the Croatian national team:
“I don’t view players in the national team as competition. I hope that in the upcoming window, Karlo Matkovic and I will be selected for the center position.”
To wrap up this pleasant interview, we were interested in where Danko Brankovic sees room for improvement in his game.
“I definitely see room for improvement in my post-up play, where I can leverage my height. Of course, there’s also the work on muscle mass for battling under the basket,” concluded the conversation for Basketball Sphere, Bayern’s center.