ESTEVAN — A talented young basketball player from Estevan is going to be playing professionally for Europrobasket in Serbia.
John Sasi went to school for seven years in Estevan, and graduated from the Estevan Comprehensive School in 2018. His parents William and Marry Ann immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 2007 and moved to Estevan in 2010. Sasi attended St. Mary's School and Spruce Ridge School before heading to the Comp.
He has since completed three years of college in Alberta, spending a year at Medicine Hat College and two at Northwestern Polytechnic in Grand Prairie. Sasi said he will continue his studies online while playing in Serbia.
A point guard, Sasi stands just 5'7" and said people have overlooked him in what is a tall person's sport because of his lack of size.
"Every year I have been treated unfairly, but I kept showing up. It didn’t matter the results. I kept working towards my goal," he said in an email to SaskToday.
Even when he was in college, Sasi said he never received a fair chance. But it didn't matter if he was injured, he kept working hard.
"What was in my control was my attitude, the desire and the determination to just keep working," said Sasi.
Playing in Estevan helped a lot with his development. Sasi thanked his coaches – Nathan Wilhelm, Dustin Wilson, Rob Gallaway and Shane Ross, among others – for helping him through everything.
"All of these guys supported me through everything. There were times where I had to step back and go back to Estevan and just realize where it all started, and I can't thank them enough for having my back since Day 1."
Basketball is a fun sport and he said he can play with his friends or work on his game by himself. There's a process and a grind every day to get better.
"It doesn’t matter what happens externally, it's a grind itself. It's the joy of getting better every single day."
Sasi said he gained the opportunity to play in Serbia after he saw information on a program on his Instagram account. People he played with and against in Medicine Hat went through the program as well. He started asking about it, and Sasi was referred to the organizer.
"I sent them my film from my college years, and they were impressed. Basically in European basketball, it's a lot of team ball movement … and they were very impressed with the video," said Sasi.
Serbia is a basketball hotbed, he said. The country earned a bronze medal in men's basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and they have produced a number of NBA players. He said it's "surreal" to play professionally in a country that excels in the sport.
Sasi departed for Serbia on June 6. He will go through a training camp over the summer and play against different teams. The season starts in September.
He believes he needs to get better at getting his shots off quickly and making proper reads, especially since he's facing much taller opponents. But as a point guard, he's tasked with running the offence according to the system and making good decisions.
"I've prepared my whole life for this," he said.
