Observing Filip Petrusev Against Borac
April 2nd, 2021
By Alan Lu
I decided to take the time to watch Mega Bemax’s 6-11 Serbian center, Filip Petrusev play against Borac in an Adriatic League game that was played on February 28th, with thanks to YouTube via ABA liga j.t.d. Petrusev is an agile, skilled big man that can shoot and score the basketball. He previously played college ball at Gonzaga before leaving to play overseas this year, and he currently projects to be a late first round prospect. He played well in his team’s close win over Borac, as he scored 16 points in this match, and he also scored on the game-winning tip shot. Here are my thoughts on how Petrusev fared, as well as how the other various prospects played on this day.
(Photo: Ivica Veselinov/Mega Soccerbet, via ABA League)
Mega Bemax’s Filip Petrusev had a solid showing in his team’s win over Borac. He excelled as a shooter and scorer in this game, and he was able to score on a clutch tip shot after rolling to get the ball in the post to help his team get the victory. Petrusev is a good face-up scorer that shoots the ball well. He is a good shooter that effortlessly made an open, corner three, and he also knocked down a baseline mid-range jumper. He also showed a solid first step off the dribble to score on a left-handed drive to the hoop. He also drove to his right on the baseline and drew free throws on a hard foul.
He also showed a decent ability to score in the post. Petrusev really commanded attention and double teams when he would get the ball, and opponents would really try to swarm him and foul him hard. He rolled to get the ball in the post, as he scored on a game-winning tip shot at the buzzer. He also showed a knack for drawing fouls, as he can regularly get to the free throw line. On the downside, he would sometimes force up tough shots and be prone to rushing, which led him to get his shots blocked, and it included one possession where he ended up being triple-teamed. He also missed on a fadeaway jumper, and he didn’t always show enough patience when he would be crowded down low.
Also, Petrusev displayed fairly good playmaking skills in this game. He is an agile big man that was able to throw a quick, drive and kick pass to find an open shooter to notch an assist. He also threw a very long outlet pass to set up a score for a teammate on the break. He also would set screens to help teammates get open jump shots and driving lanes. On the downside, he would sometimes bobble and drop entry passes, as a couple of those balls ended up going to the opposition.
Unfortunately, he didn’t show great rebounding instincts in this game. Petrusev seemed to rebound the ball well at Gonzaga, but he didn’t rebound the ball well against Borac. He was able to leap up to get several defensive boards, and he also tipped a ball to help his team get another. However, he didn’t show great rebounding instincts, and sometimes he would leap up, but still allow opponents to get offensive rebounds over him in his area. He also ended up committing a couple of aggressive, loose ball fouls when pursuing rebounds other times.
He also played satisfactory defense in this game. While Petrusev may not be an elite shot blocker nor possess elite quickness, he is an active position defender that will compete hard to get stops for his team. He would rotate to contest outside shots to force misses. He also actively stayed with an opposing ball handler on a switch, and he successfully contested a step-back three using his length, footwork, and awareness to force another miss. He would actively defend opponents in the post due to possessing decent footwork, as he can slow up opposing ball handlers and contest shots. He also used the pull out the chair move when defending in the post to nearly force a turnover. On the downside, sometimes he can struggle to defend quick players off the dribble, which would occasionally lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.
In general, Filip Petrusev played well in his team’s win over Borac. He is an agile, skilled scorer that can shoot and score the basketball in a variety of ways, and he is also a fairly solid passer and ball handler. He will need to improve his rebounding, and he may not project to be a shot blocker at higher levels. Still, Petrusev is a very skilled big man whose strong offensive skills could make him a solid pick in the mid to late first round range of the 2021 draft, and he could end up being a solid role player in the NBA.
Mega Bemax’s 6-6 French guard, Malcolm Cazalon played fairly well in limited minutes in his team’s win over Borac. He excelled as a shooter and scorer, and he was able to make some solid plays to help his team on both ends of the court. Cazalon showed a knack for knocking down jumpers to shoot and score the basketball. He was able to make an open, spot-up three off the catch. He also used some nice dribble moves and showed some deft footwork to make a step back, long two.
He also showed a decent ability to score off the dribble. Cazalon has a quick first step to get past his man, and he would draw fouls, as he was able to draw free throws on a strong drive in transition. On the downside, there was one play where he passed up the opportunity to take an open three-point shot, as he backed up before driving wildly to miss on a contested, fadeaway jumper in traffic.
He also displayed satisfactory playmaking skills. Cazalon is an unselfish player that passes well off the dribble, and he can make an assortment of passes to set up scoring chances for his teammates. On the downside, he also threw a loopy, high entry pass that got deflected and intercepted. While he didn’t get any rebounds in this game, he was able to tip a ball to a teammate to help his team get a defensive rebound once.
He also played adequate defense in this game. Cazalon was able to rotate to contest a roll man to force a miss. He also deflected a pass to nearly get a steal another time. On the downside, he can tend to gamble too much defensively. He tried to jump a pass but collided into an opponent to commit an aggressive foul. He also was caught ball watching and was late to rotate back, as he gave up too much space to a shooter that led him to allow his man to score on a corner three.
Overall, Malcolm Cazalon is an athletic swingman that can do a little bit of everything when he is on the court, but he will need to get more playing time in games, and he can sometimes be prone to taking questionable shots. Still, he is an athletic, versatile player that could be a solid pick for an NBA team in the second round range in the 2021 draft.
Mega Bemax’s Stefan Momirov also had a fairly good showing in his team’s win over Borac. He excelled as a shooter and scorer in this game. He showed a knack for making quick, spot-up threes off the catch, and he was able to run quickly off the ball to make one late in this match. He also managed to draw free throws after getting the ball on a backdoor cut another time. He also displayed satisfactory playmaking skills. He is a solid passer and ball handler, and he would make quick drive and kick passes to shooters in the corners to notch assists. However, another time, he had a pass intercepted when he tried to pass out of the post on a separate play.
He was also able to chase down balls to get boards on both ends of the floor. Defensively, he looked to be fairly average at best. For the positives, he would contest jumpers to force misses, and he would actively contest shots in the paint and fight through screens to stay with his man. On the other hand, he would struggle to defend quicker players, which would lead him to get beat off the dribble and then commit fouls and allow scores. Other times, he wouldn’t hustle back hard enough on the defensive end as he would give up on plays, which would lead his team to allow dunks in transition. Overall, Momirov is a skilled swingman that can spot up to knock down jumpers on offense. He is only an average athlete and he will need to improve his position defense, but his ability to shoot and space the floor may make him a borderline second round candidate in the 2021 draft.
Mega Bemax’s Karlo Matkovic is a 6-10, 2001-born center from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he was able to make some highly energetic plays on the defensive end at times when he was in this game. He struggled to score in this game, as he tended to miss in the post, and he also missed on an alley-oop layup on the break. Matkovic scored on a roll to the rim due to possessing above average athletic gifts and a solid motor. He also almost scored on a dunk from the post, but it was called off as his teammate drew a foul earlier on the play. He also showed off fairly average playmaking skills. Matkovic set a solid on-ball screen to help his teammate score on a drive to the hoop. On another play though he dribbled, but got it stolen away from behind to commit a turnover. Though he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Matkovic also was able to leap up to get a pair of defensive boards.
He also played fairly average defense at best. Matkovic was able to get his hands on a pass to get a steal due to making a good read on the play. He also would rotate to actively contest shots in the paint to force misses. On the downside, he struggled to defend in one-on-one situations. He would tend to commit fouls, and he also struggled to guard opponents out on the perimeter. He also would sometimes over-rotate to defend opposing ball handlers off screens, but then allow his own man to score on open jump shots. Overall, Matkovic is a strong, mobile big man, but he still may have ways to go as a prospect for the NBA. He will need to improve his jump shot and defensive skills. Otherwise, he could still end up being a solid or at least a fairly effective professional player overseas, even if he doesn’t make it to the NBA.
Mega Bemax’s 6-7 forward, Luka Cerovina had his ups and downs in limited minutes in this game. He didn’t shoot the ball very often, but he was able to make some solid plays, especially as a facilitator and defender in this game. Cerovina showed some scoring skills when he would hoist up shots on offense. He was able to score on a strong, left-handed drive to the hoop. He also showed that he can draw fouls when posting up or looking to score off of a cut, and he drew free throws on a dunk attempt off of a backdoor cut. He ran off of a ball screen to get the ball another time, but he ended up missing on an open, corner three. He also displayed satisfactory playmaking skills. Cerovina is an unselfish player that would look to find the open man, and he can also pass out of the post to set up scores for his teammates. He also rebounded the ball well, as he would often leap up to get defensive boards, and he was able to push the ball quickly up the floor once.
He also played decent defense. Cerovina would contest jump shots to force misses, and he also deflected a pass out of bounds. Sometimes though, he would struggle to guard opponents in one-on-one situations. He bit on a pump fake to commit a foul on a drive, and he also got beat on a spin move to allow a score in the post another time. Another time, he was late to get out on a shooter, and he didn’t run hard through screens, which led his team to allow a three-point basket. Overall, Luka Cerovina made solid team plays to help his team in this game, even though he didn’t take many shots against Borac on this day. He will need to be a more consistent outside shooter in games, and he only may be an average athlete, but his size and playmaking skills could make him a prospect to watch in the future.
