Partizan's president: 'We won't ask for a EuroLeague wild card, but we won't refuse it either' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Ostoja Mijailovic twitter page Credit Ostoja Mijailovic twitter page

Partizan NIS Belgrade missed out on the chance to qualify for next year's EuroLeague through the EuroCup following their dramatic elimination to Turkish side Bursaspor.

Points this season

47%85,7Points made:85,7Accuracy:47,2%Place in standings:4Record max:106Record min:60Best scorer:Kevin PunterTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

Now, their only way to get to Europe's top level is through the ABA league; or maybe hope for a wild card, if the suspension of the Russian clubs remains in effect.

The club's president, Ostoja Mijailovic, is very clear about the team's future.

"Partizan certainly won't be the one who decides about it," the Serbian exec told Zurnal.

"If we are asked to join the EuroLeague, we won't refuse. But, we won't ask for anything," he went on to say.

Mijailovic said that he's "very sorry for everything that's going on between Russia and Ukraine."

"We have very good relations with CSKA Moscow, with their management, and we have contacts with other clubs who have been excluded," he noted.

"I think it's pretty unfair to the clubs who were the backbone of European basketball decades ago. That's bad, but we're not powerful enough to be able to do something. We don't expect to take advantage of their damage," Mijailovic stressed.

Partizan's EuroCup run stopped at their Last 16 game against Bursaspor in Belgrade. Although the organization has not recovered from the shock caused by the elimination, Mijailovic sees something positive in everything.

"We will not give up on our young players," he clarified.

"Maybe if we had some more experienced Americans, with NBA experience, we would have won games like that. But I'm sure that will happen in the long run, as our young and talented players will be able to give more to the team.

We had by far the youngest team in the EuroCup. Maybe that's the price we had to pay for it," Ostoja Mijailovic underlined.

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