Borce Ilievski (born August 3, 1972) is a Macedonian-Icelandic professional basketball coach. In 2019 he was named the Úrvalsdeild karla Coach of the Year after guiding ÍR to the Úrvalsdeild finals.
| Fjölnir | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | 1. deild karla |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1972-08-03) August 3, 1972 (age 50) Štip, Macedonia, Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | Macedonian / Icelandic |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1988–1994 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1988–1992 | BC Stip |
| 1992–1993 | BC Sloga |
| 1993–1994 | BC Madjari Skopje |
| As coach: | |
| 1998–2003 | BC Stip |
| 2004–2005 | BC Polo Trejd |
| 2006 | KFÍ (assistant) |
| 2006–2010 | KFÍ |
| 2010–2011 | Tindastóll |
| 2012 | Bolungarvík |
| 2012–2014 | Breiðablik |
| 2015 | ÍR (assistant) |
| 2015–2021 | ÍR |
| 2022–present | Fjölnir |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As coach:
| |
In 2006, Ilievski was hired as an assistant coach to KFÍ's men's team as well as the head coach of the club's youth program.[1] He took over as head coach of the men's team in end of November 2006 after Baldur Ingi Jónasson resigned.[2] After winning the 1. deild karla with the team in 2010, and achieving promotion to the top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla, Ilievski was not retained by the club at the conclusion of his contract despite also being the 1. deild karla Coach of the Year.[3]
In May 2010, Ilievski went on to sign with Úrvalsdeild club Tindastóll.[4] He guided Tindastóll to a 9th-place finish with a 7–14 record during his first season.[5] He resigned as head coach three games into his second season after a disagreement with board about the need to strengthen the roster.[6]
He guided 2. deild karla club Bolungarvík for the final games of the 2011–2012 season, where the team bowed out in the first round of the playoffs.[7][8]
In June 2012, Ilievski was hired as the head coach of Breiðablik.[9] After guiding the team to a 9–9 record, he received a two-year contract extension in April 2013.[10] In December 2014, he was relieved of his duties as head coach by the board of Breiðablik.[11]
After starting the 2015–2016 as an assistant coach to ÍR, Ilievski was promoted to head coach when Bjarni Magnússon resigned as head coach six games into the season.[12][13] He guided the club to the playoffs during his second season where it was swept by Stjarnan in the first round.[14]
In 2018, Ilievski led ÍR to the second best record in the league.[15] They faced Stjarnan in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year in what turned out to be a heated series. In game three of the series, Stjarnan's Hlynur Bæringsson was fouled hard by ÍR's Ryan Taylor[16] After the game he experienced concussion like symptoms[17] and was ultimately ruled out of game four which Stjarnan eventually lost after Danero Thomas scored the game winning basket at the buzzer.[18] Although Taylor received an unsportsmanlike foul, he was not ejected from the game.[19] After the game he received a three-game suspension from the league.[20] In the semi-finals, ÍR ultimately lost to Tindastóll in four games.[21]
In February 2019, Ilievski led ÍR to the semi-finals of the Icelandic Cup where it faced Stjarnan in a tension filled game were fighting broke out between fans during the game.[22] ÍR ultimately lost the game, 87–73.[23] In the Úrvalsdeild, ÍR finished with the 7th best record and faced second seed Njarðvík in the first round. After losing the first two games in the best-of-five series, ÍR unexpectedly won the next three and knocked out Njarðvík.[24] In the semi-finals, ÍR faced top-seed and heavy title favorites Stjarnan. After losing the first game by 33 points,[25] ÍR bounced back and took the next two games before Stjarnan tying the series with a comfortable 90–75 victory in game four.[26] In game five, ÍR came out on top with an 83–79 victory and advanced to the finals.[27][28] In the finals, ÍR lost 2–3 to KR after leading 2–1. After the season, Ilievski was named as the Úrvalsdeild Coach of the Year.[29]
Ilievski resigned from ÍR following a 0–3 start to the 2021–22 season.[30]
In May 2022, Ilievski was hired as the head coach of Fjölnir men's team.[31]
| Season | Team | Tier | League | Pos. | W–L | Playoffs | Icelandic Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | KFÍ | 2 | 1. deild karla | 6th | 5–9 | DNQ | N/A1 |
| 2007–08 | KFÍ | 2 | 1. deild karla | 6th | 8–10 | DNQ | 1st Round |
| 2008–09 | KFÍ | 2 | 1. deild karla | 5th | 11–7 | Semi-finals | 1st Round |
| 2009–10 | KFÍ | 2 | 1. deild karla | 1st | 16–2 | N/A | 2nd Round |
| 2010–11 | Tindastóll | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 9th | 7-15 | DNQ | Semi-finals |
| 2011–12 | Tindastóll | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 11th | 0-3 | N/A | N/A |
| 2011–12 | Bolungarvík | 3 | 2. deild karla Group B | 3rd | 1–0 | 1st Round | N/A |
| 2012–13 | Breiðablik | 2 | 1. deild karla | 6th | 9-9 | DNQ | 1st Round |
| 2013–14 | Breiðablik | 2 | 1. deild karla | 5th | 10-8 | 1st Round | 1st Round |
| 2014–15 | Breiðablik | 2 | 1. deild karla | N/A | 4-5 | N/A | 1st Round |
| 2015–16 | ÍR | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 10th | 4-12 | DNQ | N/A1 |
| 2016–17 | ÍR | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 7th | 11-11 | 1st Round | 2nd Round |
| 2017–18 | ÍR | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 2nd | 16-6 | Semi-finals | 3rd Round |
| 2018–19 | ÍR | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 7th | 10-12 | Finals | Semi-finals |
| 2019–20 | ÍR | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 7th | 11-10 | Canceled2 | 1st round |
| 2020–21 | ÍR | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 10th | 8-14 | DNQ | Semi-finals |
| 2021–22 | ÍR | 1 | Úrvalsdeild karla | 12th | 0-3 | N/A | 2nd round3 |