MADRID, 26 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Croatian international point guard Goran Filipovic will temporarily reinforce Valencia Basket, where he arrives on a two-month contract, in order to make up for the absences in the position of point guard, where American Chris Jones and Spaniard Sergio de Larrea are absent due to injury, the Valencian club announced this Thursday in a statement.
The new ‘taronja’ player was free after finishing his contract with Bosnian side Igokea, with whom he was crowned league champion, averaging 12.6 points, 40 percent on three-pointers and 3.4 assists on average. The Croatian, 1.80 meters tall and 27 years old, stands out for his “speed, rhythm and defensive activity and threat in the three-point shot.”
Filipovic already has previous experience in Spain in the 2022-2023 season when he signed for Leyma Coruña, a team that had just been promoted to the Endesa League and was playing in LEB Oro at the time. With the Galician team, he posted numbers of 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals for a PIR of 9.9 per game.
He began his career with the historic KK Split in his home country, where he made his debut at 16 and played his first five years as a professional, before moving to the Bosnian HKK Siroki, with whom he averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists on average. He then moved to the Romanian SCM Craiova, with whom he averaged 12.1 points and 3.2 assists in his only season. He later returned to his country to join Cedevita, where he played for one season before trying out for Leyma Coruña.
His last two seasons have been spent with Polish club Torun, where he averaged 15.3 points and 5.6 assists, and Igokea, where he was one of the key players in the final victory. In the Adriatic League, his figures were also outstanding: 14.6 points and 3.4 assists.
He won silver at the 2015 U-19 World Cup and has established himself as a regular in the Croatian national team in recent seasons, with which he competed in the Pre-Olympic tournament for the Paris Games, making an outstanding contribution against Slovenia with 21 points on 6/7 from three-point range and a PIR of 28.