KK Olimpija
Union Olimpija | |||
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Nickname | Zmaji (The Dragons) | ||
Leagues |
Slovenian League ABA League Eurocup | ||
Founded | 1946 | ||
Arena |
Arena Stožice (capacity: 12,480) | ||
Location | Ljubljana, Slovenia | ||
Team colors |
Green, white | ||
Main sponsor | Union Brewery | ||
President | Jani Möderndorfer | ||
Head coach | Gašper Potočnik | ||
Championships |
15 Slovenian Leagues 19 Slovenian Cups 7 Slovenian Supercups 6 Yugoslav Leagues 1 FIBA Saporta Cup 1 Adriatic League 2 Central European Leagues (SBA) | ||
Website | Official website | ||
Uniforms | |||
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Active sport clubs of Olimpija | |||
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Football | Basketball | Hockey |
Košarkaški klub Olimpija Ljubljana (English: Olimpija Ljubljana Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Olimpija or simply Olimpija, is a professional basketball team that is based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The team competes in the Premier A Slovenian League, the Adriatic League, and the Eurocup.
History
In the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, green and white are the colours of Union Olimpija, a club that has become known as a talent farm. Olimpija basketball club was founded in 1946 as a section of the Svoboda Physical Culture Society. The first basketball game was played the same year against Udarnik and Olimpija came out on top with the score of 37-14. Late in 1946, the club was renamed Enotnost and was known by that name until 1954 when it assumed the name AŠK Olimpia.
The club has been called by its current name since 1997. Union Olimpija conquered its first Yugoslav League title of then Yugoslavia in 1957 under the direction of the coach/player Boris Kristančić. In one of the world's best emerging leagues, Olimpija went on to dominate the next 15 years, winning the Yugoslav title five more times, in 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966 and 1970. A new era for the club began with Slovenia's independence, when dominance took on another meaning, namely 10 consecutive years of winning both the league and cup trophies in Slovenia.
On the international stage, 1993–94 was the club's best season as they took home the European Cup against the Spanish ACB League club Taugrés under the direction of coach Zmago Sagadin. In 2001–02, the Slovenian team won the small triple crown, taking the Slovenian League championship, Slovenian Cup, and the Adriatic League. The club added to its trophy collection in 2002–03, winning the Slovenian Cup.
Name through history
The club was established in 1946 as the basketball department of the larger sports club Svoboda (in English, "Freedom"). Later it changed names quite a few times, from KK Enotnost (1947–54) (Unity) to AŠK Olimpija (1955–76), to KK Brest Olimpija (1976–78), to KK Iskra Olimpija (1978–82), to KK ZZI Olimpija (1982–83), to KK Smelt Olimpija (1983–96), and finally, to KK Union Olimpija (1997–present). The last five names of the team have all included names of the main sponsors of the team.
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Arenas
The team played in Tabor Gymnasium first, then moved to the 6,000 capacity Tivoli Hall in 1965. The club then moved into their new arena, Arena Stožice, with a capacity of 12,480 in 2010.
Players
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
KK Union Olimpija roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Depth chart
Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
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C | Ronalds Zaķis | Vasilije Vučetić | ||
PF | Sava Lešić | Saša Zagorac | ||
SF | Mitja Nikolić | Blaž Mahkovic | Vlatko Čančar | |
SG | Gregor Hrovat | Miha Lapornik | Blaž Mesiček | |
PG | Zackary Wright | Dawan Robinson | Luka Rupnik |
Squad Changes for the 2015–16 Season
In
- Vlatko Čančar (loan return from LTH Castings)
- Blaž Mesiček (loan return from LTH Castings)
- Miha Lapornik (from Zlatorog Laško)
- Mitja Nikolić (from USK Praha)
- Saša Zagorac (from Zlatorog Laško)
- Ronalds Zaķis (from VEF Rīga)
- Sava Lešić (from Yenisey Krasnoyarsk)
- Zackary Wright (from İstanbul BB)
- Dawan Robinson (from Auxilium CUS Torino)
Out
- Jaka Brodnik (to BC Dzūkija)
- Goran Jagodnik (to KD Ilirija)
- Halil Kanacević (to CAI Zaragoza)
- Marko Marinović (to Steaua București)
- Dino Murić
- Hristo Nikolov (to BC Levski Sofia)
- Klemen Prepelič (to EWE Baskets Oldenburg)
- Alen Omić (to Gran Canaria)
Out on loan
- Paolo Marinelli (to Kvarner 2010)
- Grega Sajevic (to LTH Castings)
- Vlatko Čančar (to LTH Castings)
- Žiga Habat (to LTH Castings)
Notable former players
Union Olimpija II
Olimpija has also a second team, composed mainly of his Under 18 team players and some experienced players: the team participates also in the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament. The team competes in the Slovenian Third Basketball League with the goal to give playing time and experience to young players. Current first team players Blaž Mesiček and Vlatko Čančar have played for the team.
The current roster is composed of :
- Davor Sattler, PG
- Stefan Tovilović, PG
- Jakob Jesih, PG
- Blaž Jamšek, PG
- Andrej Podvršnik, SG
- David Kralj, SG
- David Purić, SG
- Marko Travica, SG
- Anže Javoršek, SG
- Jan Strmčnik, SG
- Maks Klanjscek, SF
- Žiga Jurček, SF
- Aljaž Stopar, SF
- Jan Dornik, SF
- Rok Korelc, PF
- Matej Janežič, PF
- Haris Čučović, C
- Matevž Mlakar, C
- Lovro Hren, C
Honours and achievements
Total titles: 49
Domestic competitions
- Winners (15): 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09
- Runners-up (7): 2002–03, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
- Winners (19): 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- Runners-up (3): 2004, 2007, 2014
- Winners (7): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013
- Runners-up (4): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
Former domestic competitions
- Winners (6): 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969–70
- Runners-up (8): 1953, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1967, 1967–68, 1968–69
- Runners-up (5): 1960, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1981-82, 1986-87
- Winners (2): 1984-85, 1986-87
- Winners (2): 1946, 1947
European competitions
FIBA European Champions Cup / Euroleague
- Winners (1): 1993-94
Regional competitions
- Winners (2): 1993, 1994
Unofficial competitions
- Winners (1): 1993-94 small
International record
Season | Achievement | Notes | |
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Euroleague | |||
1959–60 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by ASK Riga, 79-95 (L) in Ljubljana and 63-79 (L) in Riga | |
1961–62 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Real Madrid, 105-91 (W) in Ljubljana and 53-69 (L) in Madrid | |
1962–63 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Spartak ZJŠ Brno, 86-83 (W) in Ljubljana and 72-79 (L) in Brno | |
1966–67 | Final Four | 3rd place in Madrid, lost to Real Madrid 86-88 in the semi-final, defeated Slavia Prague 88-83 in the 3rd place game | |
1970–71 | Quarter-finals | 3rd place in a group with Ignis Varèse, Slavia Prague and Olympique Antibes | |
1996–97 | Final Four | 3rd place in Rome, lost to Olympiacos 65-74 in the semi-final, defeated ASVEL 86-79 in the 3rd place game | |
1999–00 | Quarter-finals | eliminated 2-1 by FC Barcelona, 67-70 (L) in Barcelona, 71-64 (W) in Ljubljana & 66-71 (L) in Barcelona | |
2000–01 | Quarter-finals | eliminated 2-0 by Kinder Bologna, 79-80 (L) in Bologna and 79-81 (L) in Ljubljana | |
Saporta Cup | |||
1967–68 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Slavia Prague, 64-95 (L) in Prague and 82-70 (W) in Ljubljana | |
1968–69 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Slavia Prague, 76-83 (L) in Ljubljana and 61-82 (L) in Prague | |
1982–83 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Scavolini Pesaro, 78-97 (L) in Pesaro and 92-107 (L) in Ljubljana | |
1991–92 | Semi-finals | eliminated 2-1 by PAOK, 81-68 (W) in Ljubljana, 61-79 (L) & 86-104 (L) in Thessaloniki | |
1992–93 | Quarter-finals | 3rd place in a group with Efes Pilsen, NatWest Zaragoza, CSKA Moscow, Hapoel Tel Aviv and ASK Brocēni | |
1993–94 | Champions | defeated Taugrés 91–81 in the final of the FIBA European Cup in Lausanne | |
1995–96 | Quarter-finals | 6th place in a group with PAOK, Dynamo Moscow, Zrinjevac, Tallinna Kalev and Nobiles Włocławek |
The road to the European victory
1993-94 FIBA European Cup
Round | Team | Home | Away |
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3rd round | Bye | ||
Quarter-finals | Rabotnički | 89–77 | 80–66 |
Tofaş | 87–78 | 103–90 | |
Taugrés | 86–73 | 63–67 | |
Fidefinanz Bellinzona | 77–62 | 53–50 | |
Croatia Osiguranje Split | 68–76 | 84–79 | |
Semi-finals | Sato Aris | 84–78 | 79–83 |
74–61 | |||
Final | Taugrés | 91–81 |
Notable coaches
- Boris Kristančič (19??-1966)
- Zmago Sagadin (1985–1995, 1996–2002, 2005–2006)
- Tomo Mahorič (2002–2003, 2006)
- Sašo Filipovski (2003–2005, 2011-2013)
- Memi Bečirović (2007–2008, 2015-)
- Aleksandar Džikić (2008)
- Jure Zdovc (2008–2011)
- Aleš Pipan (2013-2015)
Olimpija players who have played in the NBA
Individual awards
Euroleague Awards
Eurocup Awards
Season | Name | Award |
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2013–14 | Sasu Salin | Eurocup Weekly MVP |
2014–15 | Halil Kanačević | Eurocup Weekly MVP |
2015–16 | Zack Wright | Eurocup Weekly MVP |
Adriatic League Awards
Greatest Euroleague Contributors
Basketball Hall of Fame
FIBA Hall of Fame
- Krešimir Ćosić
- Ivo Daneu
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to KK Olimpija. |
- Official website (Slovene) (English)
- Twitter profile
- Euroleague.net Official team profile
- Basketpedya.com Profile
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