Elvir Ovcina is a 35 year old 211cm power forward/center that was born in Sarajevo and is playing his second season with the LTi Giessen 46ers. He played for Syracuse from 1995-1999 reaching the NCAA final in 1996. After playing in Slovenia for two seasons, he came to Germany and played for the EWE Baskets Oldenburg from 2001-2004. In the 2003-2004 season, he played 27 games: 14.9ppg, 9.3rpg, 2.7apg, 2.8bpg. In 2004-2005, he played for Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (Greece-A1): Euroleague: 8 games: 4.3ppg, 5.6rpg; Greek League: 9 games: 5.7ppg, 3.1rpg, 2FGP: 52.0%, in Dec.’04 moved to RheinEnergie Koln (Germany-1.Bundesliga): ULEB Cup: 5 games: 11,2ppg, 3.8rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 51.3%, 3Pts: 33.3%; German Bundesliga: 21 games: 10.1ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.5apg, 1.6bpg, 2FGP: 49.7%, 3FGP: 20.0%. In 2005-2006, he played for Khimik-OPZ Yuzny (Ukraine-Superleague): EuroCup Challenge: 2 games: 10.5ppg, 3.0rpg, 0ast, FG: 63.6%, 3PT: 50%; Ukrainian League: 8 games: 7.6ppg, 3.8rpg, 2FGP: 51.0%, 3PT: 50.0%, FT: 66.7%, in Dec.’05 joined Telindus BC Oostende (Belgium-D1): 21 games: 10.7ppg, Reb-4(7.8rpg), 1.7apg, 1.2spg, 2FGP: 55.0%, 3PT: 20.0%, FT: 55.0%. He then played in Belgium from 2006-2008 for Telindus BC Oostende winning the cup in 2008. In 2008-2009, he played for Bosna ASA BH Telecom Sarajevo (D1): Adriatic League: 5 games: 9.8ppg, 9.2rpg, 3.6apg. in 2009-2010, he played for Polzela (Slovenia-Liga UPC): 5 games: 12.8ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 55.3%, 3PT: 66.7%, FT: 85.7%, in Jan.’10 moved to LTi Giessen 46ers (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 14 games: 14.1ppg, 8.1rpg, 2.8apg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 57.7%, 3PT: 32.3%, FT: 69.4 Last season for Giessen he played 34 games: 11.4ppg, 6.6rpg, 2.4apg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 17.6%, FT: 76.4%. He spoke to German Hoops after the stunning 68 -65 win against the Brose Baskets Bamberg.

Congrats on the 68-65 win against Bamberg. Was the Osthalle like a zoo after the siren sounded ending the game?

Yes it was like a zoo. Fans gave us great support for 40 minutes. It was loud for the whole 40 minutes and it is a great victory for Giessen.

Was this your biggest win in Germany?

I don’t know. I have played 6-7 years in Germany and have had some special wins. I know that this win against Bamberg was very special for the LTi Giessen 46ers.

Giessen had the comfortable 22-10 lead after one quarter. What was key for the very positive start?

We came out very aggressive and played very good defense. We did the things that we wanted to do and got the lead. We knew that this was big since a team like Giessen will always come back and go on a run which they did.

In the third quarter, Bamberg rallied and scored 23 minutes as the score was 50-50 after 40 minutes. What was key for Bamberg coming back?

We were up by 7-8 points and they pretty quickly erased that in the first two minutes. They made some key plays in their comeback.

Barry Stewart won the game with a shot with six seconds remaining. Please describe the last play.

Stewart actually hit two big three pointers at the end. On the last play, we wanted to run a pick and role, and I don’t remember if they forgot to switch, but he just made the shot. I don’t want to put success just on one guy, because this was a great team win. This win gave us a lot of self confidence.

What was the biggest strength for Giessen against Bamberg?

We stayed together for 40 minutes against Bamberg. We played aggressive and rebounded very well also.

How did you like battling against Marcus Slaughter?

Slaughter is a little undersized for the five, but he is tough and just battles. He is a very good player.

Koko Archibong played some center some years ago with the Gloria Giants Duesseldorf and does much good work around the basket as he got 11 rebounds. He has become a crucial rebounder for Giessen.

Yes he has. He has a lot of experience having played in this league and just knows how certain things have to be done. I love having his presence on the team and he is a great player and guy.

With this big upset, will Bamberg experience some more loses like this with teams seeing they can be vulnerable?

No team in the Beko BBL have a perfect record. There seems to be a surprise each week. This was one of those results that no one expected. However Bamberg is a great team with a great coach. Come May and June, they will be there where they want to be at the end.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

Shrek 3

Thanks Elvir for the chat.