KK MZT Skopje Aerodrom

КК МЗТ Скопје
BC MZT Skopje
Nickname Штркови (Storks)
Металци (Metalworkers)
Leagues Adriatic League
Macedonian First League
Founded 9 March 1966
Arena Jane Sandanski
(capacity: 6,500)
Location Skopje, Macedonia
Team colors Blue and White
         
Head coach Aleš Pipan
Championships 3 Championships of Macedonia
7 Macedonian Cups
Website mztskopjeaerodrom.mk
Uniforms
Home
Away

KK MZT Skopje (Macedonian: КК МЗТ Скопје) is a basketball club based in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. The club competes in the Macedonian First League and Adriatic League. The club's home ground is Jane Sandanski Arena, but due to small capacity the matches in the Adriatic League[1] and Eurocup[2] from 2012-2014 were played in Boris Trajkovski Arena. From the season 2014/2015 the new home will be the renewed Jane Sandanski Arena.

In its history, MZT Skopje has won the Macedonian First League 9 times (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 2012, 2013 and 2014) and the Macedonian Cup 7 times (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2012, 2013 and 2014).

History

MZT Skopje against Cibona in the old Jane Sandanski Arena in the middle 80`s

KK Skopje was formed in 1966 by a group of enthusiasts led by the first president of the club Mile Melovski. The interest in basketball was high, and even though there were 4 clubs in Skopje, there was still need for more clubs. That is why the appearance of KK Skopje was welcome, and numbers of young people joined the club and started training on an open field in Avtokomanda. The first team roster consisted of Trpezanovski, Atanasovski, Strezovski, Lazarevski and Domlevski, who was also the team coach. In two years the club became a member of the Macedonian league. Many people expected KK Skopje to get relegated, but the team fought hard and became a standard member in the league.

In 1971 Uroš Maljković was chosen to be the new president of the club, with Boris Sokolovski becoming the new head coach. After the reorganization of the leagues in Yugoslavia, KK Skopje[3] gained the right to play in the Second league – South. In the first season of this league KK Skopje finished 7th. The second season the team reached the First league qualifications. The first try failed and due to leaving the field in Ivangrad KK Skopje received a penalty of 8 points for the next season.

KK Skopje got relegated again to the regional league and Taki Dzikov was selected to be the head coach. In 1979 the team finished first in the Macedonian league and managed to qualify for the Second league yet again. With this success the factory Metalski Zavod Tito or MZT started investing in KK Skopje. Slobodan Mucunski, one of the leading people of MZT became the president of KK Skopje. In 1984 MZT completely took the club under their wing, building the new arena Jane Sandanski in Aerodrom. In 1986 KK Skopje, under the new name MZT Skopje and the leadership of Lazar Lečić, reached the Federal First league where they competed for two seasons.

Independence of Macedonia (1991–2008)

MZT against Real Madrid in Raimundo Saporta Cup in 1996

After the independence of Macedonia, MZT Skopje immediately became one of the leading basketball clubs in the country. In the mid 90s MZT Skopje had a few successful runs on the European field, the most memorable being the 1996–97 season when the team played in the Raimundo Saporta Cup. In this period MZT Skopje struggled to get more respectful results in Europe, led by coach Aleksandar Knjazev beating teams like Real Madrid, Benfica, Ratiopharm, MZT Skopje managed to qualify for the 1/16 finals, without losing one match at home in Jane Sandanski. This was the first time Macedonia had a representative in the matches after New Year. The draw allocated that MZT Skopje were to play F.C. Porto, with the first match to be played at home. The home form continued when MZT Skopje managed to defeat Porto in Jane Sandanski. But the win was not enough, as F.C. Porto won at home by a bigger margin, ending MZT Skopje European season. However, this season in domestic competition was failure wherein MZT was defeated by Zito Vardar in the semifinal. The next few seasons MZT Skopje had a marginal role in the European cups, playing against teams like Žalgiris, ASVEL, Cholet, Split and others. In the Macedonian National championship, MZT Skopje had a few tries to get to the championship trophy, playing in the play-off finals six times, and even though a few times the team was a so-called "dream team" they couldn't win the trophy in this period. During this few seasons many players emerged through MZT Skopje like Mirza Kurtović, Vrbica Stefanov, Todor Gečevski, Pero Blazevski, Gjorgji Knjazev, Dejan Jovanovski, Gjorgje Vojnovic, Bobi Petrovski, Srdjan Stankovic, Dejan Dimov, Riste Stefanov, and internacional players like David Daniels, Lorenzo Orr, Fraizer Johnson, Levy Middlebrooks, Bojan Tadic and Bryan Smith. Although they couldn't win the championship, this period they won 4 Macedonian Cups, in 1996 against Rabotnički at Gradski Park (69-64), next season in 1997 against Tikveš Kavadarci in Radoviš (92-86), in 1999 against Nikolfert Gostivar at Jasmin Sports Hall (78-73) and in 2000 at home in Jane Sandanski again against Rabotnički (68-66).

Moments of downfall (2008–2011)

The atmosphere in the old Jane Sandanski Arena

In 2008, after many years of failed operations of the then management of the club, the fans decided to start a boycott in order to change the entire set of the management team of MZT Skopje. Finally, the summer of 2009 the entire management left the club, leaving many debts behind. There were less than two weeks left to the beginning of the season, and MZT Skopje at that moment had no players, no coach, no junior school, and even worse, they had no sponsors whatsoever. A day before the deadline for application of teams for the current championship, the Family Aerodrom fan group organized a march in order to save the club. Fortunately, this produced results, so during the first season the club was taken over by the Municipality of Aerodrom, and the club received players who were told that the club had had no money. Due to the financial problems of the club, it had the worst season since the independence of Macedonia, so KK MZT Skopje had to play in the play-out, to secure its place in the league. Fortunately, MZT succeeded, which meant much better days for the club were to come. The next season, 2010–11, the club got solid sponsors, and there was complete reorganization of the management set, the junior school was reactivated, which had been non-functional for eight years. All debts were repaid, and the team succeeded in entering the playoff semifinals, and the finals of the Macedonian Cup.

The club's most successful season (2011–2012), ABA league and Eurocup (2012-present)

Champions season 2011/2012

After all the turmoil and upheavals in the past, after a long time, KK MZT Skopje created a team which became a favorite for winning the first title since its existence. Before the start of the season, an agreement had been reached on Liga ABA participation in the 2012–13 season. On May 2, 2012, for the first time in history, MZT Skopje won a championship,[4] playing in the finals against Feni Industries and beating them with the score 4–1. That same season, MZT Skopje was the winner of the Macedonian Basketball Cup, having the best results at the Boris Trajkovski arena.[5] MZT Skopje’s debut season in the ABA league can be assessed as highly successful. Before the season’s start, the club’s only goal had been to ensure survival in the league, but as the season went by, at one given period, MZT was strong enough to fight for the Final Four Tournament. On its first official game in the Adriatic League, MZT won a victory over Cibona in Zagreb,[6] which was immediately followed by its first official victory at home over Siroki Breg.

MZT in ABA league match in season 2012/2013

Although it used to be considered as a club with one of the smallest budgets in the ABA League, MZT has managed to outperform teams with budgets many times bigger, as well as former European champions. The list of teams that MZT has outperformed consists of Cedevita, Cibona, Krka, Zadar, Siroki Breg, Split, Szolnok, Union Olimpija, and a crown of the successful season was its latest triumph at home over Partizan. In the last round, MZT had a chance to qualify for the Eurocup. It was necessary to defeat Krka in Slovenia, and for Cedevita to be defeated by Siroki Breg. The task was fulfilled by the Macedonian champion, but the qualification did not depend on MZT alone, and eventually MZT ranked seventh, with a score of 14 wins and 12 losses, thus ensuring its participation in the ABA League next year, too. In the Macedonian league, MZT is still being dominant. First, they won the Cup of Macedonia defeating Kumanovo in the finals, while in the playoff MZT Skopje succeeded in making it to the title with no single defeat, achieving victories over Feni in the semifinals with 3-0, and over Kozuv in the finals with 4-0. In 2014 MZT becоme champion again third time in a row, beating the eternal rival Rabotnicki in the final (3-1). The same year MZT won Macedonian Cup and this trophy was 7th[7] in the history.

Name changes

However, the club is best known under the name KK MZT Skopje.

Honours

Honours No. Years
League
Macedonian Republic League Winners 6 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979
Macedonian League Winners 3 2012, 2013, 2014
Macedonian League Finalist 9 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2012, 2013, 2014
Cups
Macedonian Cup Winners 7 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2014
Macedonian Cup Finalist 11 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Macedonian Super Cup Winners 1 2004

Winning seasons

Macedonian League

Damjan Stojanovski MVP of Macedonian Cup Final 2013 and Macedonian play-off Final 2014
Season Champion Runner-up Score MVP
2011/12 MZT Skopje Feni Industri 4-1 (seven game series) Todor Gečevski
2012/13 MZT Skopje Kozuv 4-0 (seven game series) Gjorgji Čekovski
2013/14 MZT Skopje Rabotnički 3-1 (five game series) Damjan Stojanovski

Macedonian Cup

Season Champion Runner-up Result MVP Host city
1996 MZT Skopje Godel Rabotnički 69-64 Vlatko Vladicevski Skopje
1997 MZT Skopje Tikveš Kavadarci 92-86 Toni Simic Radoviš
1999 MZT Skopje Nikolfert Gostivar 78-73 Mirza Kurtović Kavadarci
2000 MZT Skopje Rabotnički 68-66 Gjorgji Knjazev Skopje
2012 MZT Skopje Feni Industri 84-66 Todor Gečevski Skopje
2013 MZT Skopje Kumanovo 79-71 Damjan Stojanovski Skopje
2014 MZT Skopje Lirija 76-73 Todor Gečevski Ohrid

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

KK MZT Skopje Aerodrom roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
G 00 Republic of Macedonia Petrovski, Luka 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 18 – 20 October 1996
G/F 1 Republic of Macedonia Stojanovski, Damjan  1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 27 – 9 December 1987
G 4 Republic of Macedonia Stajić, Boban 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 77 kg (170 lb) 21 – 6 October 1993
G/F 5 Serbia Sinovec, Stefan 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 26 – 20 June 1988
G 6 Republic of Macedonia Mekić, Adem 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 19 – 28 December 1995
F 9 Serbia Lučić, Uroš (C) 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 32 – 12 March 1983
G/F 10 Republic of Macedonia Simonovski, Marko 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 25 – 28 June 1989
C 11 Republic of Macedonia Samardžiski, Predrag 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) 110 kg (243 lb) 29 – 11 April 1986
G 12 Slovenia Ćapin, Aleksandar 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 32 – 6 October 1982
C 15 Republic of Macedonia Mladenovski, Ljubomir 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 19 – 2 May 1995
C 22 Republic of Macedonia Arsoski, Mihajlo 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 19 – 21 September 1995
G/F 24 Montenegro Šehović, Sead 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 25 – 22 August 1989
F/C 25 Republic of Macedonia Nikolovski, Kiril 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 26 – 9 June 1988
F/C 33 Serbia Mijatović, Danilo 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 106 kg (234 lb) 31 – 6 August 1983
G 55 Serbia Cvetković, Aleksandar 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 75 kg (165 lb) 21 – 22 September 1993
G/F — Republic of Macedonia Markovski, Gorjan  1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 22 – 19 June 1992
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Republic of Macedonia Aleksandar Jončevski
  • Republic of Macedonia Darko Aleksievski
Strength & conditioning coach(es)
  • Republic of Macedonia Zlatko Janakievski
Physiotherapist(s)
  • Republic of Macedonia Petar Todorovski
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: 18 March 2015

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C Predrag Samardžiski Kiril Nikolovski Ljubomir Mladenovski Mihajlo Arsoski
PF Uroš Lučić Danilo Mijatović
SF Sead Šehović Marko Simonovski Damjan Stojanovski
SG Stefan Sinovec Adem Mekić Luka Petrovski Gorjan Markovski
PG Aleksandar Ćapin Aleksandar Cvetković Boban Stajić

Management

Notable former players

Todor Gečevski triple champion with MZT in 2012, 2013 and 2014
Gjorgji Čekovski three double crowns with MZT Skopje

Head coaches

MZT Skopje in Europe

1993/1994

Czech Republic BK JIP Pardubice Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 97-82 81-111
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Germany Ratiopharm Ulm 78-75 70-85

1994/1995

Lithuania BC Baltai Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 60-44 74-80

1995/1996

Croatia KK Zagreb Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 94-80 64-81
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Russia Arsenal Tula 91-78 70-94

1996/1997

Spain Real Madrid Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 92-65 68-69
Bulgaria Plama Pleven Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 103-94 68-91
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Germany Ratiopharm Ulm 92-89 73-94
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Israel Hapoel Galil Elyon 65-55 79-95
Portugal Benfica Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 77-75 73-75
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Portugal BC Porto 73-69 74-80

1997/1998

Poland Znicz Pruszków Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 85-79 64-110
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Estonia BC Tallinna Kalev 54-77 90-81
France ASVEL Villeurbanne Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 68-48 53-58
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Lithuania Zalgiris Kaunas 93-95 49-97
Croatia KK Zagreb Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 77-61 52-71

1998/1999

France Cholet Basket Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 90-61 71-86
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Slovakia Slovakofarma Pezinok 60-75 84-76
Turkey Türk Telekom B.K. Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 91-73 57-75
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Croatia KK Split 74-85 71-69
Czech Republic Geofin Nový Jičín Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 94-87 100-74

2000/2001

Serbia KK Vojvodina Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 93-85 78-81

2013/2014

Russia UNICS Kazan Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 85-61 62-88
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Latvia VEF Riga 70-77 80-71
Israel Maccabi Haifa Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 79-60 83-86
Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje Estonia Kalev Cramo 79-70 84-69
Turkey Banvit Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje 85-61 68-86

MZT Skopje in ABA League

Team 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015
Montenegro Budućnost 69-76 / 81-71 78-71 / 87-79 65-81 / 96-69
Croatia Cedevita 74-61 / 78-80 75-81 / 77-67 61-76 / 81-70
Croatia Cibona 82-76 / 72-77 88-93 / 93-90 78-65 / 70-61
Serbia Crvena Zvezda 60-75 / 87-72 65-58 / 87-77 76-79 / 89-56
Bosnia and Herzegovina Igokea 77-81 / 79-55 90-82 / 65-79 76-80 / 61-76
Slovenia Krka 92-88 / 68-80 80-75 / 73-50 60-72 / 85-52
Bulgaria Levski not participated not participated 72-61 / 91-90
Serbia Mega Vizura not participated 80-72 / 101-82 84-79 / 103-95
Serbia Metalac Valjevo not participated not participated 58-64 / 69-67
Serbia Partizan 66-64 / 68-58 69-70 / 66-73 55-63 / 65-50
Serbia Radnički 75-83 / 89-83 87-95 / 69-79 not participated
Hungary Szolnoki Olaj 87-53 / 81-72 73-63 / 81-69 74-58 / 73-76
Bosnia and Herzegovina Široki 63-59 / 71-72 82-71 / 67-63 not participated
Croatia Split 73-65 / 93-84 not participated not participated
Slovenia Union Olimpija 76-87 / 60-64 79-60 / 73-62 57-76 / 69-56
Croatia Zadar 94-69 / 68-76 78-69 / 72-70 72-58 / 74-69
Ranking
7th
9th
13th

The eternal basketball derby

Supporters

Family Aerodrom at the Cup Final against Feni in 2012

MZT Skopje's fans, Family Aerodrom, were formed in spring 1997 as a legitimate heir of Service Crew and Piramida Aerodrom.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "MZT Skopje Adriatic League". ABA Liga.com. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "MZT Skopje in Eurocup". eurocupbasketball.com. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Историјат на Кошаркарскиот клуб МЗТ Скопје". KKMZTSkopjeAerodrom.com. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.mkd.mk/29242/sport/sampionskiot-pehar-konecno-vo-racete-na-kapitenot-na-mzt
  5. ↑ http://tocka.com.mk/2/63068/mzt-go-osvoi-kupot-na-makedonija
  6. ↑ http://www.mztskopjeaerodrom.mk/index.php/novosti-reader/items/pobeda-na-cibona-za-uspeshen-start-vo-aba-liga.html
  7. ↑ http://www.mztskopjeaerodrom.mk/index.php/novosti-reader/items/mzt-skope-aerodrom-liria-76-73.html
  8. ↑ "Club Page at the ABA Liga website (abaliga.com)" (in Macedonian). Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  9. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/user/aerodrom87/videos

External links