Bilan with Cedevita against MZT in Skopje, in November 2012
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No. 15 – Cedevita Zagreb | |
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Position | Center |
League |
ABA League Croatian League Eurocup |
Personal information | |
Born |
Šibenik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia |
July 21, 1989
Nationality | Croatian |
Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
Listed weight | 270 lb (122 kg) |
Career information | |
NBA draft | 2011 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 2006–present |
Career history | |
2006–2009 | Šibenik |
2009–2010 | A.E.P. Olympias Patras |
2010–2011 | Zadar |
2011–present | Cedevita Zagreb |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Miro Bilan (born July 21, 1989) is a Croatian professional basketball player who plays for Cedevita Zagreb of the Croatian League. Standing at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), he plays the center position.
Bilan started his career in his hometown, playing for Šibenik from the start of 2006 until January 2010 season when he signed 3 year-deal for Zadar. In Zadar Bilan proved to be one of the most promising young centers in Croatia, becoming subject of interest from major clubs. As Zadar fell into financial troubles, failing to pay their players on time, Bilan one-sidely parted ways with the team.
In August 2011, he signed a contract with Cedevita. Zadar suspended Bilan but eventually he won Croatian Basketball Federation arbitration dispute, allowing him to debut for Cedevita in September 2011. In July 2014, he extended his contract with Cedevita for one more season.
On May 5, 2015, he agreed to a new two-year contract with Cedevita. The 2015–16 season was until then his most successful season. He was one of Cedevita's key players in its Euroleague Top 16 run and was named ABA League MVP. In spite rumors he will continue his career abroad, in July 2016 he signed a new one-year contract with Cedevita.
Bilan was a part of the Croatian U-18 and U-20 teams as well as Croatian B national side. He made his debut for the senior Croatian national basketball team in August 2014 in a friendly against Canada. He was the last player to be removed from the preliminary squad for the 2014 World Cup. He represented Croatia at the 2015 EuroBasket, where they were eliminated in the eighth finals by Czech Republic. At this tournament he was the third choice for the Center position and did not spend much time on court. A year later, after Ante Tomić and Justin Hamilton canceled, he became the first-choice Center in Croatia's successful appearance at the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.