"Ruben is a special guy and he has a special demeanor on the court," said his Joventut coach David Jimeno. "He has really developed very well as a leader."
That leadership also comes from experience. The Portuguese big man was playing in his third qualifier. At the ANGT Valencia in 2020-21, he averaged 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocks. Prey took a major step up last season at the ANGT Varese, tallying 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
"The ANGT is a great opportunity for me to play at a very high level. And it’s just a great chance for me to express my work," Prey said. "I have to keep working but I am happy that I had a great result here."
And he’s also happy that Joventut will be back among the final eight teams in the competition at the ANGT Finals. This will be the first time the team from the Barcelona suburb will play in the Finals since 2017-18 when Joventut won the ANGT L’Hospitalet, the last time the club took first place in a qualifying tournament.
"This is the first time I have won this tournament so it’s amazing and we are looking forward to Kaunas. And we want to have a great tournament there too," said Prey, who plays for Joventut mainly in the fourth division EBA, but also occasionally in the third division.
Prey really enjoys playing for the club.
"The way that we work on our team chemistry is like no other team," said the center.
When asked about what he expects at the ANGT Finals in May, Prey said: "There will be difficult teams in Kaunas but I am sure we will have a great tournament there too."
That will be Prey’s first experience at the ANGT Finals, but he already has a lot of experience in the competition and is sure to know what is expected there as well.
