KK Olimpija

Union Olimpija
Nickname Zmaji (The Dragons)
Leagues Slovenian League
ABA League
Founded 1946 (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
Website Official website
Uniforms
Home
Away
Active sport clubs of Olimpija
Football Basketball Hockey

Košarkarski Klub Olimpija (English: Olimpija Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Olimpija or simply Olimpija, currently named Union Olimpija due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The team competes in the Premier A Slovenian League and the Adriatic League.

History

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 won its first Yugoslav League title 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 Olimpija won eight consecutive league titles between 1992 and 1999.

On the international stage, 1993–94 was the club's best season as they won 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.

Name through history

1983-97 crest

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 (Unity, 1947–54) to AŠK Olimpija (Akademski Športni Klub 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.

Names

  • KK Svoboda (1946)
  • KK Enotnost (1947–54)
  • AŠK Olimpija (1955–76)
  • KK Olimpija (1976 to present)

From 1976 all the names of the club have included the names of the club's main sponsors.

  • Brest (1976–78)
  • Iskra (1978–82)
  • ZZI (1982–83)
  • Smelt (1983–97)
  • Union (1997 to present)

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
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
PG 5 Slovenia Rupnik, Luka 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 71 kg (157 lb) 22 – (1993-05-20)20 May 1993
PG 6 United States Robinson, Dawan 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 34 – (1982-02-10)10 February 1982
G/F 7 Slovenia Hrovat, Gregor 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 21 – (1994-08-18)18 August 1994
G 9 Slovenia Mesiček, Blaž 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 79 kg (174 lb) 18 – (1997-06-12)12 June 1997
F 10 Slovenia Nikolić, Mitja 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 25 – (1991-02-24)24 February 1991
F/C 12 Serbia Vučetić, Vasilije 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 104 kg (229 lb) 19 – (1996-05-04)4 May 1996
G 13 Slovenia Lapornik, Miha 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 22 – (1993-10-18)18 October 1993
F 15 Serbia Lešić, Sava 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 101 kg (223 lb) 28 – (1988-02-23)23 February 1988
F/C 17 Slovenia Zagorac, Saša (C) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 110 kg (243 lb) 32 – (1984-01-01)1 January 1984
F 21 Slovenia Mahkovic, Blaž 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 26 – (1990-03-21)21 March 1990
F/C 30 Latvia Zaķis, Ronalds 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 28 – (1987-07-08)8 July 1987
F 31 Slovenia Čančar, Vlatko 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 19 – (1997-04-10)10 April 1997
G Montenegro Pavličević, Nikola 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 27 – (1988-08-13)13 August 1988
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Slovenia Luka Bassin
  • Slovenia Žiga Mravljak
Strength & conditioning coach(es)
  • Slovenia Saša Ogrizović
Physiotherapist(s)
  • Slovenia Rok Žagar

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: 14 March 2016

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
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 Dawan Robinson Luka Rupnik

Squad Changes for the 2015–16 Season

In

Out

Out on loan


Notable former players

The following players played at least one senior international match for their national team. Flags before names indicates the national team, which the player represented.

Union Olimpija II

Olimpija also has a second team, composed mainly of their Under-18 team players and some experienced players; the team participates in the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament and in the Slovenian Third Basketball League with the goal to give playing time and experience to young players.

The current roster is composed of  :

Honours and achievements

Domestic competitions

Slovenian League

Slovenian Cup

Slovenian Supercup

Former domestic competitions

Yugoslav League

Yugoslav Cup

Yugoslav League (1. B)

Slovenian League (SR)

European competitions

FIBA European Champions Cup / Euroleague

FIBA Saporta Cup

Regional competitions

Adriatic League

Central European League (SBA)

Top performances in European & Worldwide competitions

Season Achievement Notes
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 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  
3rd round Bye
Quarter-finals Republic of Macedonia Rabotnički 89–77 80–66
Turkey Tofaş 87–78 103–90
Spain Taugrés 86–73 63–67
Switzerland Fidefinanz Bellinzona 77–62 53–50
Croatia Croatia Osiguranje Split 68–76 84–79
Semi-finals Greece Sato Aris 84–78 79–83
74–61
Final Spain Taugrés 91–81

Season-by-season records

Season Tier Domestic league Position Domestic cup Supercup Adriatic League Europe Result
1991–92 1 1. A SKL Winners Winners
1992–93 1 1. A SKL Winners Winners European League,
European Cup
Second round,
Quarterfinals
1993–94 1 1. A SKL Winners Winners European League,
European Cup
Second round,
Winners
1994–95 1 1. A SKL Winners Winners European League Group stage
1995–96 1 1. A SKL Winners N/A European League Round of 32
1996–97 1 1. A SKL Winners Winners Euroleague Third place
1997–98 1 1. A SKL Winners Winners Euroleague Round of 16
1998–99 1 Liga Kolinska Winners Winners Euroleague Round of 16
1999–00 1 Liga Kolinska Semifinals Winners Euroleague Quarterfinals
2000–01 1 Liga Kolinska Winners Winners Euroleague Quarterfinals
2001–02 1 HYPO Liga Winners Winners Winners Euroleague Top 16
2002–03 1 1. A SKL Runners-up Winners Semifinals Euroleague Top 16
2003–04 1 1. A SKL Winners Runners-up Winners Semifinals Euroleague Top 16
2004–05 1 1. A SKL Winners Winners Winners Quarterfinals Euroleague Regular season
2005–06 1 1. A SKL Winners Winners Winners 10. Euroleague Regular season
2006–07 1 Liga UPC Telemach Runners-up Runners-up 9. Euroleague Regular season
2007–08 1 Liga UPC Telemach Winners Winners Winners Semifinals Euroleague Regular season
2008–09 1 Liga UPC Telemach Winners Winners Winners 9. Euroleague Regular season
2009–10 1 Telemach League Runners-up Winners Winners Semifinals Euroleague Regular season
2010–11 1 Telemach League Runners-up Winners Runners-up Runners-up Euroleague Top 16
2011–12 1 Telemach League Runners-up Winners Runners-up 6. Euroleague Regular season
2012–13 1 Telemach League Runners-up Winners Runners-up 8. Euroleague Regular season
2013–14 1 Telemach League Runners-up Runners-up Winners 10. Eurocup Last 32
2014–15 1 Telemach League Quarterfinals Semifinals Runners-up 5. Eurocup Last 32
2015–16 1 Liga Nova KBM Quarterfinals 7. Eurocup Last 32

Notable coaches

External links

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