Vezenkov shares his experience with Spanoulis: ‘He wants to win even if it’s a PlayStation game’ / News - Basketnews.com

Olympiacos Piraeus forward Sasha Vezenkov took part in the BasketNews Talks podcast, where he shared his memories about his childhood and basketball culture in Cyprus and the pleasure of playing with the legendary Vassilis Spanoulis.

Aleksandr Vezenkov

Team:Olympiakos PiraeusPosition:SF, PFAge:26Height:206 cmWeight:102 kgBirth place:Nicosia, Côte d'IvoireProfileNewsStatistics

As Vezenkov told himself, he has three passports – Bulgarian, Greek, and Cyprian. However, he spent the first 14 years of his life in Cyprus. So, could we call him the best basketball player Cyprus has ever produced?

“I really don’t know,” Vezenkov told BasketNews with a smile on his face. “I was here (in Cyprus) until the age of 14. I feel here like home, my family and friends live here. There are a lot of good players from Cyprus, but if you say that, it’s an honor for me.”

Despite that, Vezenkov plays for the Bulgarian national team. As he explained himself, it was a decision purely because of his original roots.

“My family and parents are from there, they grew up over there. So, that’s the main reason. Like I said, I love all three countries, and each of them gave me a lot. But because my family is from Bulgaria, I made this decision,” Vezenkov explained.

Being only 20 years old, Vezenkov moved to FC Barcelona. As the time showed, it wasn’t the best experience for the Olympiacos forward, but as he said himself, he would still do it again.

“I never regret about my decisions, so I’d do it again,” Vezenkov said. “I learned there how to go up from the bottom. What did go wrong? During my first year, I wasn’t ready for sure. EuroLeague is another level. I just faced reality.”

“Then for next 1-1.5 years everything was okay, the team was not good, a little coach changes, departures of the players, but I was established. One coach came, he didn’t like me, he didn’t let me play, so I kept practicing. Then I came to Olympiacos where I feel great,” Vezenkov added.

Olympiacos meet a new era before the upcoming season after the legendary Vassilis Spanoulis announced his retirement. Vezenkov had the honor to play with Olympiacos icon and revealed that he learned a lot from him.

“Work ethic and how does he do things. He’s a true professional, he wants to win in every aspect, even if outside basketball or simply a PlayStation game. That’s his charisma and character. I’m blessed that I played with him,” Vezenkov said.

You can watch or listen to the full interview with Vezenkov here:

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