Filip Petrusev: 'Zvezda give me the best conditions for development' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

After a lackluster season with Anadolu Efes Istanbul last season, Filip Petrusev is coming to play for Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade next year.

Filip Petrusev

Position:CAge:22Height:210 cmWeight:107 kgBirth place:Belgrade, SerbiaProfileNewsStatistics

A few months ago, Anadolu Efes head coach Ergin Ataman famously said that bringing in Petrusev was a mistake. Now, the young big man has a chance to prove his former coach wrong.

"I went first to the Summer League with Philadelphia, who drafted me, purely to show myself, to talk to everyone in the organization. They have a plan for me, and everything is going according to that plan," Petrusev told Mozzart Sport.

"I didn't even play too much, they analyzed some other players, they followed them, and that was probably the focus. When you draw a line and look at everything, I think that I had a good time in America, everything is OK. When I returned to Serbia, I signed a contract with Crvena Zvezda."

The signing of Petrusev was gladly welcomed among the club's fans. A former ABA League MVP who is still only 22 years old, a local who has shown his potential in the limited amount of time he's been on the court - what could be better? However, there weren't that many offers from the EuroLeague clubs, the player says.

"I looked at where I would be able to develop the best, to get the best possible conditions for development. I chose the club based on that principle and that's what I got from Crvena Zvezda," the Serbian explained. "The EuroLeague is simply much stronger this season than the EuroCup, and that's why I'm glad that I managed to come to the team that will play there. I considered all the options in the EuroLeague, honestly, there weren't too many, but Zvezda is a good option for me because of everything I mentioned."

Besides Petrusev, Crvena Zvezda went through a complete overhaul of the team, bringing in Nemanja Nedovic, John Holland, Ben Bentil, Jaylen Adams, and Hassan Martin as the main names of the offseason.

"All teams reacted strongly with reinforcements in the EuroLeague, and in Serbia in particular. Very good players arrived in all teams," Petrusev talked about the upcoming season. "As far as I can see, Zvezda is trying to be as competitive as possible. I think it looks as it should, it remains to be seen how everything will end and how we will look good on the floor."

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