76ers' Filip Petrusev and his girlfriend survive terrifying ordeal in Greek wildfires / News - Basketnews.com

76ers big man Filip Petrusev made a narrow escape from raging Greek wildfires, as the Serbian and his girlfriend were running for their life, with the fire drawing closer.

Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images, Tiana Sumakovic/Instagram Credit Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images, Tiana Sumakovic/Instagram

Philadelphia 76ers big man Filip Petrusev and his girlfriend Tiana Sumakovic experienced a harrowing ordeal in Greece amidst raging wildfires. They were initially assured of safety but soon found themselves in a dangerous situation.

The couple had sought refuge on a beach ten kilometers away from the fire, but the smoke became suffocating, leaving them stranded without any assistance.

They later reached a hotel, hoping for rescue, but no help arrived. With the fire drawing closer, they had no choice but to flee.

For hours, they walked and sought shelter, encountering challenges reported by Tiana Sumakovic on Instagram.

"Ten kilometers away from the fire on the beach, we found ourselves suffocating from the thick smoke, utterly abandoned to fend for ourselves," Sumakovic wrote. "Then we came to another hotel, where we were supposed to be safe and wait for someone to pick us up. No one came to pick us up from the hotel. The fire got so close that we had to run away as far as we could.

"So we continued on foot, the electricity went out, and we just walked as far as possible from the fire, because we didn't know where to go. After four hours of additional agony, we walked, then van, then again on foot, and finally by sheer luck we managed to find a bus. Over 20,000 people were evacuated," Petrusev's girlfriend recounted.

According to Telegraf.rs, both Filip Petrusev and his girlfriend reached Belgrade safely.

Fires spread on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Corfu, Crete, and Evia.

Despite the unpleasant experience, Petrusev received some good news afterward. Serbian NT head coach Svetislav Pesic invited him to join the preliminary roster for FIBA World Cup 2023.

In the upcoming season, the 23-year-old Petrusev will make his NBA debut with the Sixers after European stints with Mega Basket, Anadolu Efes, and Crvena Zvezda.

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