Ergin Ataman admits Efes made a mistake signing Filip Petrusev

Anadolu Efes concluded another successful season-its fourth consecutive- in the EuroLeague. The back-to-back champions made minimal changes in their roster this season, and they ended up winning the competition again.

Efes coach Ergin Ataman sat down with Umit Avci of Milliyet to reflect on the EuroLeague season. Ataman talked about the 2021-22 season struggles, the EuroLeague title and the future of the team.

The two-time EuroLeague champion admitted Efes made a mistake signing the 2020-21 ABA MVP Filip Petrusev, who was expected to replace Sertac Sanli who left for FC Barcelona last summer.

“We took a risk with Petrusev. The young player was named MVP in the Adriatic League. The fact that he came to such a high-level team for the first time and that he could not reach that level physically was a bit of a mistake for us,” Ataman stated (h/t Basketnews.com).

Petrušev was selected with the 50th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2021 NBA Draft. He did not join the Sixers roster, as the franchise wanted him to continue developing in Europe.

The Serbian bigman appeared in 22 EuroLeague games, but he was a non-factor for the EuroLeague champions. He averaged 5.3 points and 1.6 rebounds per contest, but, he could not keep himself on the court for more than nine minutes per game.

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