two summers ago left Bilbao Basket by surprise by activating his exit clause, something neither the rectors of the club nor some of the fans were too fond of, which had made it one of their favourites, to stop at the Lenovo Tenerife in what was an important event progress both sportingly and financially in their professional career and now he has decided to go the other way. Emir Sulejmanovic is once again a “man in black”. The Miribilla entity formalized this Wednesday the return of the 27-year-old Bosnian striker and 2.06 meters, who signs for a season.
Jaume Ponsarnau is the player Sulejmanovic will face next season much more complete and careful than the one that landed in 2019 in Bilbao coming from Breogán to form a rotation of power forwards with Arnoldas Kulboka and Iván Cruz in the recently promoted ‘men in black’. This “Sule” arrived with a serious wrist injury, but when he was able to make himself available for Álex Mumbrú, he demonstrated the characteristics of his game: character, warrior spirit, bouncing voracity and ability to do damage at close range.
In his two courses in Tenerife under the orders of Txus Vidorreta -in May he won the Basketball Champions League at the Bilbao Arena- He did not have great individual notoriety (13 and 12 minutes average respectively) nor stratospheric statistics (4.7 and 4.1 points), but he added new resources to his game, such as a three-point shot with more than interesting sequences. In Miribilla he scored three last year in his side’s loss to Mumbrú’s team and his 35.7%, with 42 attempts in 28 games, could be a good match point for this weapon offense is gaining prominence within his repertoire.
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Failing to know the identity of the “four” capable of doing damage beyond the line of 6.75 meters who will complete the team of “men in black”, Sulejmanovic returns to Bilbao to have, a priori, a much more important role than the one he has played in recent years. He is counted on to play an important role in an internal rotation which will have the challenge of acting as a pillar of the team in both the Endesa league and the BCL. This may have been one of the incentives to opt for the offer made by the Miribilla entity, since the managed other possibilities for the future such as the return to Breogán, whose hobby also keeps an excellent memory of him.
Regarding his incorporation, Rafa Pueyo, sports director of Surne Bilbao Basket, stressed that “he is a player who connects with the stands and has left a good memory. He is one of the best rebounders in the league. He plays with a lot of energy and puts a lot of force into all his actions. Moreover, he is very effective around the rim and has improved his outside shooting in recent seasons. I’m sure the fans see his comeback as something positive.”