By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
More young blood for Alba Berlin. Ziga Samar inked a four-year contract to join the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague participant, the team announced Friday confirming the report of Eurohoops about him packing his bags for a trip to the German capital.
“I am very happy to have signed in Berlin. It was always my dream to play in EuroLeague,” noted the Slovenian point guard, per the press release, roughly translated with help from Google Translate, “Alba is a great organization. I am really looking forward to arriving in Berlin and meeting all the people working together on this project.”
The trend of picking up talented European players is not new for Alba. The first summer signing, Gabriele Procida was another example, coming in shortly after being selected with the 36th overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft and his rights being traded to the Detroit Pistons. So far this offseason, the Berlin giant also re-signed German forward Tim Schneider and head coach Israel Gonzalez.
Samar spent the last couple of seasons featuring in Montakit/Urbas Fuenlabrada in Spain’s Liga Endesa. Coming in from the youth team of Real Madrid, he was loaned to third-division Aquimisa Laboratorios before settling in Fuenlabrada. Moving away from Spain generates the opportunity to debut in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Recently capped for the first time at the senior level, Samar was a regular for junior national teams of Slovenia in recent years. Achievements include helping his country win the bronze medals in the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL