The Serbian center has been one of the Lithuanian team's star players this season
Marko Pecarski finally playing his own game at Lietkabelis
Player Spotlight
7 Mins read
Marko Pecarski is competing in the BKT EuroCup for the first time as a major contributor. And the 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys center is also performing with the peace of mind of finally playing his own game.
Pecarski has averaged 10.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist through four games with Lietkabelis, which is still looking for its first win in Group B.
This is a big season for the 24-year-old Serbian as he competes in the EuroCup for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, when he appeared in eight games and collected totals of 7 points and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes.
“I want to show that I'm also a dominant big man at this level,” Pecarski, who averaged 4.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12 minutes per game in the 2017-18 EuroCup campaign, tells David Hein. “This season I want to play my game, to do all the stuff that I do great but at even a higher level. And also the stuff that are not my strengths, I want to show that I can improve on them.
"I have a lot to show at this level. It's simple. I don't want to talk about stats or anything, but I can play my game and perform great at this level.”
Pecarski arrived in Lithuania this summer in Lithuania after playing last season with the Turkish club Denizli Basket, where he posted 11.1 points to go with 5.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists. But perhaps most meaningful were this trio of stats: 41.0% three-point shooting, 2.4 offensive rebounds per game and just 12 turnovers for the season, giving him just 12 total turnovers in 609 minutes over 24 games.
"I'm very versatile offensively – shooting, offensive rebounds. But people don’t pay much attention to those things especially when you talk about big guys,” he adds. “But just 0.5 turnovers shows I do not make mistakes and am very safe on the ball to make good decisions. I think that is what teammates that play with you respect and that coaches respect. That shows that you are calm, that you know your team and your coach can rely on you.”
This season is also big for Pecarski because it’s the first time he’s playing in a European competition as a foreigner.
“You have a responsibility as a foreigner to perform every single game and carry a lot for the team,” the Serbian says. “And I think the season in Turkiye is where I became much stronger. I learned how to handle all of that weight and all of that pressure. And I think that was like a perfect preparation for me for something like the EuroCup.”
Last season, Pecarski had two big games against Anadolu Efes Istanbul – 15 points and 9 rebounds in his first game against the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague side, then 23 points and 8 rebounds the second time around. He also had a big 27-point, 11-rebound double-double against Manisa, as well as 26 and 14 against Darussafaka.
“That is the reason why I came to Turkiye and why I accepted that challenge, to be able to play as a foreigner against such big clubs,” Pecarski explains. “It's different when you're playing in an upper league and you're a local player. There is a different kind of pressure when you play as a foreign guy. And it felt great because I felt like I succeeded in some of my goals: to successfully perform as a foreigner and to establish myself as a player in such a big league abroad.”
Another reason Pecarski cites for his success this season is being back together again with head coach Nenad Canak, who coached the center at the youth level at Mega Belgrade and also when he played at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in 2017-18 and part of the following season.
“When I started my professional career [with Partizan] I was very young, but I had a very good relationship with him and when he called me everything was feeling good,” he says. “I have big, big trust in him and what we talked about, and we have a great relationship.”
With the comfort of a coach who has known him for many years and the confidence from last season, Marko Pecarski feels right at home with the pressure of needing to perform in the EuroCup – and playing his own game.