He gave 19 points against Red Star, 20 to Panathinaikos, 27 to eternal rival Barcelona and finally 19 to a selection of the most talented basketball players who do not play these Euroleague youth tournaments with their clubs. In the finals, he added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals to the index 25. Real Madrid won all four games of the final tournament in Lithuania and looked forward to this title for the fourth time. He won the first one eight years ago on his home court, when he played on the wings Luke Dončić. Now, the basketball virtuoso from Ljubljana has a new successor among the MVPs of Real Madrid, and there is a compatriot to boot.

For the second time, the Slovenian was chosen as the most useful individual. Vide was the best player of his team, contributing an average of 21.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, four assists, and a total statistical index of more than 21. The first five were completed by Mohamed Fayewho, with the selection of the most promising players, defeated Barcelona’s 71:60 in the final Kasparas Jakučionis, Zvezdin Nikola Topic and Megina Bogoljub Marković. “Of course, the title is a big thing. Tofeja means a lot to me. It’s nice to get this individual award as well. It’s nice when there are photographers everywhere and you’re in the center of attention. There have been many MVPs in these 20 years, but not all of them even about a career like Luka’s for example. This is not a guarantee that the career will be top notch. Of course I feel like some kind of star now, but I am aware that I still have a lot of work to do, especially next season and beyond. Everything is great at the moment , it’s a nice achievement, but I know what still awaits me,Vide told MMC.

Real Madrid played excellent defense in Kaunas

In January, shortly after turning 18, the promising defender said in his first interview with the Slovenian media that winning the youth Euroleague is the main goal, and at the same time asserted that he is convinced that he and his teammates are the main favorites for the title. They coped with the role brilliantly in Kaunas, and the 197-centimeter-tall Domžalčan shone: “It was all pretty emotional for me at the end. It was my last game for Real in these junior categories. I felt less pressure to win. We didn’t do it last year and I really wanted to say goodbye to Madrid with the title. At the end that last second and at the siren was one of the best feelings for me. The burden fell off and I just enjoyed the moment. At the same time, I began to realize that unfortunately we will not play together with this team again. Maybe we will meet again, but then it was celebration in the dressing room a lot. Enjoyment.”

Vide is an outstanding offensive player and is ingeniously able to score in a variety of ways. In the last season, he also improved his shooting from a distance, and penetration has always been his great weapon. He was the offensive driving force of Madrid, who impressed as a team with aggressive and good defense. On average, the royal club received only 60 points per game: “The credit goes to the coaching staff. In previous years, I remember that we only thought that if we make more baskets, we will win. Just attack and play as fast as possible. Now we try to attack from our defense. This actually gave us a faster game. When we play good defense, we get rebounds and counterattack quicker.Our defense, both individually and as a team, is one of the best.“

If he stays this confident, he will be successful among the members as well

With Real, in addition to the Euroleague, he also played in the EBA League, which is ranked fourth in Spain, and the national youth league, where Joventut was better in the final. In the EBA, the second team from Madrid celebrated without defeat in one of the groups, but the club’s management wants the youth to grow at this level and therefore does not play additional matches for promotion to the higher league. Also in these two competitions, the Slovenian teenager was the best player and scorer of the royal club: “Now this is a kind of culmination of the whole process of these four years. During this period, of course, not everything was beautiful. There were also bad moments, but in the end, when I look at everything together, I will remember the good ones. This now is probably my favorite here in Madrid.”

“I think I took a step forward this year. Especially in individual play and thinking. I can actually see that I am more confident. I was given the role of team leader. My teammates accepted me as such. It was an obligation that we then played well as a team when I was in that role. The season ahead will surely be a big challenge. This transition from the youth category is really not easy, but if I have the same mentality as now, I don’t think there will be any problems. I guess in the new team I won’t have as much time with the ball in my hands and take responsibility, but if I play with the confidence I have now and have the support of the players and the coaches, I don’t think this leap should be a problem ,” added the former Helios junior basketball player who moved to Spain four years ago.

The next challenge is the U19 World Championship with Slovenia

After their celebration, Real’s youngsters were able to watch the victory of their team in Kaunas. The turnaround was directed by an outstanding organizer of the game Sergio Rodriguezwho made the biggest impression on Videt during the summer preparations, and another veteran put the finishing touch with a basket three seconds before the end, Sergio Llull. The youngsters returned to Spain together with the winners of the Euroleague and already on the plane, as Vide said, there was a real celebration: “Rodriguez has been doing this for 15 years and it didn’t surprise me at all that he played like that. He showed that he is a maestro of basketball. For him, years are just a number. On the other side, then, is Llull, who has the talent to score baskets like the one he gave at the end. His only basket and the most important one. Unbelievable. We were lucky enough to sit almost in the front row. After the match, we could go to greet them and congratulate them.”

In a short time, it will be officially clear where Jan will continue his career, as the junior categories are over for him. In the next few days, he will return to Slovenia, where he will soon start preparing for the U19 World Championship. Last year, in this type of competition in the under-17 category, he was the top scorer of the tournament, and Slovenia played in the quarter-finals. Now an even bigger challenge awaits him, and in Hungary, the national team will meet Madagascar, Lebanon and the USA in the group. After the championship in Debrecen, he will devote himself to individual training in the summer and try to prepare as much as possible for the following season.