Sonja Petrovic

SONJA'S INTERVIEW FOR BASKETWORLD.INFO	march 2008

Sonja Petrovic (189-F-89) has won the 2007 FIBA Europe Young Women's Player of the Year Award in a vote involving fans and a panel of basketball experts from 25 countries. The Bourges Basket and Serbia forward received a majority of the expert votes and performed well in the fan voting as well earning her the honour won by Sandrine Gruda of France last year.
Petrovic helped lead Serbia to a gold medal in the U18 European Championship Women in July and also played a key role in her country advancing to the Qualifying Round at EuroBasket Women 2007.
Basketworld.info present all basketball fans Sonja Petrovic.

BW: How did you start playing basketball?

Sonja: My sister and I were watching together basketball games during Olympic Games in Atlanta and after that we ask our father, who was at that time generally secretary of Yugoslav Basketball Federation, to make a basketball team for us.

BW: Where did you play High school and college ball? Was basketball the most popular sport in your community?

Sonja: Basketball is beside football the most popular sport in my country for a long time.Women basketball is not so popular but men is and they had a lot of successes.
In school I played volleyball, and if I were not playing basketball probably I would be playing volleyball now. During high school I played in Serbia, in BC Red Star, then I left for Barcelona and now France.

BW: Tell us, please, something about your coaches and your teammates.

Sonja: I`m playing basketball for 12 years so I had a lot of coaches, around 20 and teammates.My first coach was my father and he coach me for 6 years and now my coach in Bourges is Pierre Vincent. Most of my coaches were very good and I owe them a lot.
Because I am young usually around me were older and more experience teammates, but they always had understanding for me and wanted to help if I needed it.

BW: How is your life outside the basketball gym?

Sonja: I sleep a lot. When I am not sleeping or practicing, usually I am reading some book or studying for my school because I have one class more to finish.Also I spend a lot of time with my family or friends so I don't have a lot of free time.

BW: What do you want to achieve in the next few months in your career?

Sonja: I would like that we win French Championship, French Cup and to qualify for the Final Four with Bourges. Also after I would like to win some medal with my national team on FIBA European Championship U20 and to qualify with seniors on Eurobasket 2009.

BW: Who is your role model now? Please, tell us why?

Sonja: My role model were Kicanovic, Drazen Petrovic and Danira Nakic, and I watched their games and try to 'scout' them. Now, I am lucky to have great player like Cathy Melain in my team from whom I can learn a lot.

BW: Wich is the greatest moment in your career?

Sonja: I am proud to say that I accomplish a lot of things in basketball and school that are very special for me, from the first MVP awards that I get in Serbia until the last honour being Young player of the year 2007â€¦ but if I have to put something in front that will be championship that I win with my sister, when she was captain and much better player then me.

BW: 24 second on the court area?

Sonja: Enough time to give all of you because that's the only way for victory.

BW: In life 24 second area?

Sonja: Little part of life that goes really fast and after you can't go back, so use it on the right way.

BW: If you says 'Thank you? (wich one person you adress to)

Sonja: My father for basketball, my mother for caring always about me and my sister for love and being always there for me.

SONJA PETROVIC NAMED YOUNG WOMEN`S PLAYER OF THE YEAR - 2007	february 2008

Sonja Petrovic has won the 2007 FIBA Europe Young Women's Player of the Year Award in a vote involving fans and a panel of basketball experts from 25 countries, just edging out Silvia Dominguez of Spain.
The Bourges Basket and Serbia forward received a majority of the expert votes and performed well in the fan voting as well earning her honor won by Sandine Gruda of France last year.
Petrovic helped lead Serbia to a gold medal in the Under-18 European Championship Women in July and also played a key role in her country advancing to the Qualifying Round at EuroBasket Women 2007.
The Belgrade native averaged 6.7 points and 3.7 rebounds for the national team in Italy and 12.3 points and 10 rebounds per contest for the Under-18 squad which took home gold.
For club side Bourges Basket she has seen significant playing time and has taken advantage of it, pouring in 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in just over 22 minutes of EuroLeague Women action.
"This award is a great way to promote women's basketball and Sonja is a wonderful representative of the game." Commented FIBA Europe President George Vassilakopoulos
"I saw Sonja play on several occasions this summer and she is one of the most talented young women in Europe." Said FIBA Europe Secretary General Nar Zanolin.
Petrovic finished third in the fan voting behind Spanish countrywomen Tamara Abalde of Lamar University and Silvia Dominguez of Halcon Avenida. The eventual winner placed first amongst the experts with Dominguez placing second and Jelena Milovanovic of MKB Euroleasing Sopron and Serbia and Regina Palusna of MBK Ruzomberok and Slovakia tying for third.

FIBA Europe interview: Petrovic ready for medal run	october 2007

FIBA: What this means for Serbia, for the rest of tournament?
Sonja: We will try to win Italy and after that France, than of course to play in ¼ final and I think that it will be a great success for us, because we have a young team and nobody expect this in Serbia, so I think this is a great success for Serbia team.
FIBA: How do you explain difference between 3 days ago, you lost so badly from Spain, and you come out and beat team, big team who beat USA last year. I think that against Belorussia we had awful game because against Spain we didn`t expect so good game and then we show how much we can do it. So after tath were little bit exhausted for Belorussian, and after 2 days rest we are come now and feeling better , so I think that we had all opportunity to win Russian.
FIBA: Just one thing, about your two coaches, those two guys intense? What is like play for them?
Sonja: They are great! I think you don`t know Serbian coaches, so that`s normal for Serbian guys to act like that, I think that whole team is like that, yelling all the time, jumping .I think, for us, it is normal.
FIBA: You are daughter of famous referee. Have you spoken with him yet?
Sonja: No, after this game no, because they didn`t have official TV at this time, they have later, so they just congratulation, because in Serbia this is a great victory especially for women basketball, because it is not so popular!!!
FIBA: thanks Sonja and good luck.

FIBA Europe interview: Petrovic ready for medal run	july 2007

Serbian captain Sonja Petrovic is making her final appearance in the UMCOR U18 European Championship for Women in Novi Sad.
The Barcelona forward who won gold in Budapest two years ago was voted MVP of last year's event after leading her country to a silver medal in Tenerife.
Belarus could stop Petrovic on the opening day as the 1.85m star fired Serbia to a convincing 91-76 victory with 16 points and 15 rebounds in 22 minutes.
She spoke to Cindy Garcia-Bennett on behalf of FIBA Europe after that win.

FIBA Europe : Sonja, this is your last U18 tournament. How does it feel to be back to an event in which you have played so well in the past?
Petrovic: "It's a great honor to be here. This is my third (U18) tournament in a row and my last. It would be great to win another medal although we know it is going to be difficult."

FIBA Europe: You played a crucial part in your country's march to the championship game last season when Serbia & Montenegro , as the country was then known, beat its first seven opponents by an average of nearly 28 points. Can we expect more of the same this year in Novi Sad ?
Petrovic: "Due to my experience and the fact that I was last year's tournament MVP, I have more pressure coming into this tournament. People expect a lot more from me but the most important thing is teamwork. I will try to contribute as much as possible to help the team win just as I did last year. The important thing is that we play well as a team and then we will go from there."

FIBA Europe: Changes have taken place with respect to last year, with Montenegro 's basketball federation being recognized by FIBA at the World Congress in Japan , which means the Serbians and Montenegrins play as two different teams. What has his meant for you and your Serbian team-mates?
Petrovic: "This year it is a little bit different because of the separation. We have lost many important players. Half of our team is one or two years younger so we don't have such an experienced team as last year but we will try to compensate this with other things."

FIBA Europe : You are playing in front of a home crowd. Will this backing propel you and Serbia to glory?
Petrovic: "I really hope so. Hosting the competition can be a big advantage or disadvantage. It would be great if people came to support us and watch us play. But it can give our team a lot of pressure because for some of our players, this is their first tournament."

FIBA Europe: Serbia only conceded one defeat last year and that was against Spain in in the final. Having played last season with Liga Femenina side UB Barcelona, do you have any extra insight into the defending champions?
Petrovic: " Spain are the number one favourites. They have some great and experienced players. A lot is expected from their players this year and they will be looking to go all the way. France are also strong this year and I think they have a chance, too. We are not ruling ourselves out, remember last year nobody knew much about Sweden and they finished third. But to finish in the top five would be a good result for us."

FIBA Europe: Sonja, you have plenty to look forward to in the coming months as you will be training with the senior team in preparation for the EuroBasket Women in Italy later this summer, before you start your second season with Barcelona. What can we expect from Serbia in Italy ?

Petrovic: "It's difficult to predict what the Serbian team will do in Italy because we have a very young team. It will be a great honor for me to a part of the National Team in the EuroBasket and learn as much as I can from the more experienced players. I think we will have one of the youngest teams in Italy and I think it will be very interesting to see what happens. I was very happy with my season at Barcelona , it was my first time playing in a league away from home. But I was fortunate to be playing alongside very good players and to have a good coach who helped me a lot. I played a lot of minutes in a strong competition as the Liga Femenina is and the first year was easier than I had expected."