Stefan Peno, a first-team player of Jahorina, spoke to Basketball Sphere about his time at Barcelona, working with Georgios Bartzokas and Nenad Canak, as well as the Belgrade rivals.
Stefan Peno has had a winding career path. He started at Barcelona as one of the most promising young players in Europe, then continued his career with Vechta, Alba Berlin, and later changed several clubs across the continent.
Lithuania, Spain, Greece, and even Mexico are all countries where the Serbian guard had the opportunity to play, while he is currently a member of Jahorina.
At one point, his journey also brought him back home to Serbia, where he played for BKK Radnicki during the 2024/25 season. At the beginning of his interview with Basketball Sphere, he explained how he reached an agreement with the club from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“First of all, after an unsuccessful episode in Melilla, I wanted to return to BKK Radnicki and I had practically agreed everything, I was registered, but because things in our country are not always as they should be, I was not able to make my debut this season.
Because of that, I remained on the market only in the Balkans. That was my wish. Jahorina approached me with a good plan and ambitions, and we reached an agreement very easily. Unfortunately, the club will not be part of the Premier League next season.” said the Serbian player.
Memories from Barcelona and Sasha Vezenkov
Peno briefly looked back on his time at Barcelona, where during the 2016/17 season he had the opportunity to play in the EuroLeague alongside many great players.
Among them was Sasha Vezenkov, now one of the best European players, and Peno already recognized the Bulgarian forward’s quality and talent at that time.
“Yes, that Barcelona roster was really good on paper. With Vezenkov, you could immediately see that he had something special. Everything he does today, he was already doing back then. He does not need many shots or a lot of dribbling to score 20 points. He was still young at the time, but Georgios Bartzokas believed in him and slowly introduced him to the EuroLeague.”
The Barcelona team had many experienced players who helped him adapt both on and off the court. However, his best communication was with the Balkan players, especially his former roommate Ante Tomic and Vezenkov.
“My roommate was Ante Tomic on several occasions, and of course, we talked about many things. In a way, I also communicated a lot with Vezenkov because he speaks our language and was already very mature at that age.
Of course, on the court, whenever I needed something, there were Tyrese Rice, Pau Ribas and Brad Oleson. I was really lucky that we had such a great team at that time and everyone was open to conversations and helping others.”
Working with Georgios Bartzokas
During his time in Spain, Peno worked with current Olympiacos head coach Georgios Bartzokas, who is widely considered to be a very demanding and strict coach.
“Georgios Bartzokas is definitely a demanding and strict coach, but at the same time, he is a great person. He knew exactly what he could get from each player and how to do it. With me, he asked for two or maximum three things to be done on the court, and if I did them properly, I would play. Simple things, of course.”
Relationship with Nenad Canak
Stefan Peno also worked with Nenad Canak in Serbia’s U20 national team and during the 2022/23 season while playing for Lietkabelis.
“Our cooperation started in the youth national teams and was later renewed at Lietkabelis. Our relationship was great both on and off the court. The only problem was me and my inconsistent season.”
Crvena zvezda and Partizan’s EuroLeague ambitions
Peno also discussed the EuroLeague performances of Crvena Zvezda and Partizan, analyzing what the Belgrade rivals need to make a bigger step on the European stage.
“Our clubs are missing a process, they are missing the creation of something. Keeping players for one, two, or even three years. Honestly, in my opinion, everything starts and ends with domestic players.
I consider them the foundation of the locker room and team chemistry. You need to believe in what you are doing and understand that other teams are also chasing the Final Four and competing. You need patience and you need to aim to achieve something through a certain process.”
Serbia national team memories
The Serbian guard went through all youth national team selections and made his senior debut in the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Although he never won a gold medal with the senior national team, he can be proud of winning a bronze medal at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Cup, another bronze medal at the 2012 FIBA U16 European Championship, and two silver medals at European Championships.
Peno also named the best teammates he played with in Serbian national teams.
“I would highlight Stefan Lazarevic, Radovan Djokovic, Vanja Marinkovic, Vuk Karadzic and Miroslav Raduljica.”
Dream of playing for Crvena zvezda or Partizan
At the end of the interview, Peno revealed whether he regrets never wearing the jersey of one of Belgrade’s two biggest clubs.
“Of course I do regret it. When you are a kid, you watch, support, follow and imagine yourself running out in front of those fans. There was contact, but that is sport and that is life. It simply was not meant to happen.” concluded Stefan Peno.
