By Utkan Şahin / info@eurohoops.net
Eurohoops interviewed Banvit’s head coach Saso Filipovski and he answered to many interesting questions about the Turkish team, young players, Jordan Theodore and life in Turkey!
How did you start basketball? As far as we know, you have not played basketball at a professional level. How did you decide to be a coach?
Of course I played basketball, but for the juniors of Union Olimpia. I was playing there and we were basically crowned Slovenian champions five times. As a senior, I played in the second division of the Slovenian league. But after that, I saw that I can not live and survive as a player and I took over coaching. Basically my first contact with coaching was in Union Olimpia. So I was basically 12 years in Olimpia, first as assistant then as a head coach. Then I started working in Russia, Italy, Poland and now Turkey. I became a coach because I love this game. It is a very beautiful, smart game. You have to think and not only run. You also need good psychological and social skills. I love psychology and sociology. It is life basically. A lot conflicts everyday, a lot of challenges. So that’s why I decided to be a coach.
After you have been an assistant coach for a long time, you became the champion in your first coaching experience. Then you worked in Turow, Rome, Rostov. In the meantime you have chosen as the coach of the year twice in Turow but you had to wait 10 years for the championship. Have you missed being a champion?
Yes, definitely. Coaching is also part of waiting. You have to work hard, and you have be patience also wait for the results. Also like a tree. Apples don’t fall every month. You have to work for that tree and take care of it and then you can get good apples. Coaching is similar. In my first year as a coach, we succeeded to be in the top 16 in Europe with 20 year old players. We also won the cup. But that’s how careers go: you win, you lose, you get a job, you get fired. You get stronger. You learn a lot. We learn daily here and I still learn this game from great coaches, great players. Now I have a great opportunity to learn and grow in Turkey.
You are rather young, however you have experienced Euroleague as an assistant coach in CSKA, and Olimpija, Roma and Gora. How is that showing off?
Yes of course. Words are not teaching. Experience is teaching. That is completely different than school. In school, first you study, then you have exams. In life, first you have exams, then you learn. So that’s the difference. Of course experience is very important.
Banvit has always been one of the league’s prestigious teams. But as of lately, it seemed like they needed something to be excited about again and this was possible after you came to the team. How would you describe your past four months in Banvit?
First of all, this is really a very good team. Bosses are businessmen and they respect their money, they are not just throwing it from the window. That’s why they are taking care of all these. As businessmen, they understand relations between people are very very important. That’s why we are like a family. These people are very connected, they talk, they communicate, they take care of the relationships between the staff. That’s why I feel good. They cater for us, for players, so we feel good. And when you feel good you can give more. At the moment I’m happy about us doing well and everybody is happy.
No one expected Banvit to be so successful when the team was first established, though you’re having an amazing season so far. You’re in the middle of December and you’ve just lost twice. Where do you attribute this performance to?
This is like a puzzle. So I think many many things gave this result. First of all, definitely to our people who are working for this club. Second, to the players who fit together. They love to play and to compete. They love learning more about this game. We were lucky when choosing the roster. Then, to my staff. I have really good assistants. I have a great assistant coach, Ertan Bedir, I have great physiotherapist who is taking care of our players. You see, we have a tough traveling schedule and we spend so much time in bus. That’s why we are giving their best for our players. So I would say that all these small pieces, good relations and positive atmosphere give us these result. Of course we are not on cloud nine. Our feet are on the ground. We understand that there are many many good teams. But we go step by step. We respect other teams. We respect our position. We learn, game by game and we are happy to compete with these great teams.
So far you have made great progress and have defeated three Euroleague teams. You will face the fourth in the future. What is your goal for the end of the season?
Our goal is to go step by step. I tell my players every journey, every travel starts with the first step. And then next thing which is important is the next one. So that’s why I like this philosophy. It is nice that we are ambitious because without ambition you can not push yourself and without motive it is difficult to achieve something. I expect a lot from my players and myself. And I know that we are very prepared for the every game. We are playing every game with the need to win. Our goal is to grow, play really good basketball, share minutes, share the ball, and do as much as we possibly can.
Let’s talk about your young players. In general, young players in Turkey enter the game at the end or at moments when the fate of the game is decided. You do not hesitate to use them at the middle of the game, even during crucial moments.
Banvit is really taking care of the youngsters. We have a basketball school which is now developing in İzmir. People in our club love the young players, they are the future. Of course it is really difficult to make results at the same time to develop them, because we all know that if a young guy wants to develop, he must make mistakes. He can only learn through mistakes. On the other side, if he is just making the mistakes and not learning from them, he can not improve. I believe that if we treat someone only as a youngster, he will never grow up. So basically we must treat him also as an adult. Maturity is the most difficult thing. In coaching you are investing a lot to the players and you are waiting for them. Of course we have many youngs. Some of them are really working hard. Some of them didn’t get so many minutes. I also ask myself why I can not give them more. But at the same time it is difficult to give them more, they must deserve so. This is a balance between giving and taking So far, I believe Metehan is a really good Turkish prospect. Of course we are waiting for Tolga to join. Unfortunately he began this season with an injury
Which are the top names in terms of young players? Tolga Geçim? Eray Akyüz is doing great and he is only 16. Do you see his future being bright?
Definitely. Erkin Sanal, Metehan, Emir.. Also Cem, he plays with our Young Team. They need tough practice. They need to be pushed. And on the other side they need more minutes. They can not develop without the minutes. That’s why we are trying to combine it with give them a chance, on the other side to give and teach them also responsibility. Because basketball includes winning, and for the win you have be mature and smart.
As for the injury of Tolga, will he be able play against Fenerbahce or any other upcoming matches?
No, though he is making small progress. He will need a time to recover.
What you think of Jordan Theodore? For coaches, each player is unique, but Theodore has so far stamped the league and he is going through the best season of his career. When we look at the teams you coach, we see that the game builders are generally brilliant.
It’s no secret that Jordan is the heart of our team. Point guards are point guards, so basicially he can organize, he can score, he can protect the ball, he can attack with the ball. I’m happy that he is in my team. He knows how to share the ball and also take the ball at the key moments of the game. He is very competitive and hungry, which is very important and motivating. Theodore is a winner, a hard worker. He lives for basketball 24/7. That’s why I think that he has big future in front of him. If he continues like this, I believe we will see him in top level teams in Europe and maybe in NBA.
Itoudis, who won the Euroleague cup last season, went to CSKA after having a great regular season in Turkey. You’ve defeated Itoudis’ best starting record with Banvit. It’s still early, but people are starting to talk about how you can succeed with a strong budget team in Euroleague. Do you see yourself in the upper level?
Of course I am also hungry. Hungry to compete in Euroleague one day. I believe and I hope one day I will fight for titles. But like I said, coaching is also waiting. You have to stay in the queue. You have to wait for your turn to come. Then you have to use this chance. At the moment I am very happy to be in Turkey. I’m happy with my club. I am hungry and the same time I have patience. When my time will come I will try to use it as much as I can.
You are fighting in the toughest league in your career. There’s competition all over the life. Of course there is competition among coaches.You are fighting against Ataman, Obradovic, Perasovic and Blatt who have win the trophies in Europe. Does that excite you?
Very much. I learn from all these guys. I also respect the coach of Tofas. He is a very good coach. In this league there are top level coaches and also mid level coaches. I am really happy to compete and learn at the same time from these top level names.
Let’s get back to life. What do you like to do when you have some time to spare?
I like psychology. I read some books. I watch some films. I like also some physics, quantum physics, metaphysics. This part of psychology which has to do with humans, society and the investigation about the energy and the powers of the man. These are the things I love.
Finally, how is life in Bandirma?
I can say that people are very very polite. They really take care of us. Whatever we need, they are trying to help us with it. They love basketball. They know basically everybody from our team. It is small and comfortable city. You have access to everything in five minutes. You have shops, massages and gyms. We have great fitness facilities and the guy is open 24/7. I feel really good here. For me what is good is that there is no traffic. It is not like İstanbul when you be wait in the car for two hours. And when you free time you can spend it less in car. If you want to go seaside, Erdek is close. Bursa is close. Basically it is a nice, comfortable place with good people.