KK Olimpija

Union Olimpija
Nickname	Zmaji (The Dragons)
Leagues	Slovenian League ABA League
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
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 Rupnik, Luka 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 71 kg (157 lb) 22 – 20 May 1993 PG 6 Robinson, Dawan 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 34 – 10 February 1982 G/F 7 Hrovat, Gregor 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 21 – 18 August 1994 G 9 Mesiček, Blaž 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 79 kg (174 lb) 18 – 12 June 1997 F 10 Nikolić, Mitja 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 25 – 24 February 1991 F/C 12 Vučetić, Vasilije 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 104 kg (229 lb) 19 – 4 May 1996 G 13 Lapornik, Miha 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 22 – 18 October 1993 F 15 Lešić, Sava 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 101 kg (223 lb) 28 – 23 February 1988 F/C 17 Zagorac, Saša (C) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 110 kg (243 lb) 32 – 1 January 1984 F 21 Mahkovic, Blaž 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 26 – 21 March 1990 F/C 30 Zaķis, Ronalds 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 28 – 8 July 1987 F 31 Čančar, Vlatko 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 19 – 10 April 1997 G – Pavličević, Nikola 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 27 – 13 August 1988	Head coach Gašper Potočnik Assistant coach(es) Luka Bassin Žiga Mravljak Strength & conditioning coach(es) Saša Ogrizović Physiotherapist(s) 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

• 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 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)
• Zackary Wright (to Avtodor Saratov)

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

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.

Aron Baynes Edin Bavčić Jasmin Hukić Aleksej Nešović Aleksandar Radojević Ratko Varda Zack Wright Vassil Evtimov Marino Baždarić Emilio Kovačić Damir Markota Sandro Nicević Damjan Rudež Luka Žorić Jiří Welsch Teemu Rannikko Sasu Salin Vladimir Boisa Manuchar Markoishvili Giorgi Shermadini Vladimir Stepania Yotam Halperin Gregor Fučka

Dāvis Bertāns Roberts Štelmahers Deividas Gailius Šarūnas Jasikevičius Mindaugas Žukauskas Dušan Bocevski Vlado Ilievski Soumaila Samake Vladimir Dašić Vladimir Golubović Goran Jeretin Suad Šehović Remon van de Hare Aloysius Anagonye Tunji Awojobi Olumide Oyedeji Szymon Szewczyk Andrés Rodríguez Sani Bečirović Mirza Begić Jaka Blažič Primož Brezec Jaka Daneu

Goran Dragić Jurica Golemac Boris Gorenc Dušan Hauptman Goran Jagodnik Nebojša Joksimović Goran Jurak Ivica Jurković Jaka Klobučar Slavko Kotnik Marijan Kraljević Domen Lorbek Erazem Lorbek Ariel McDonald Marko Milič Stipe Modrić Boštjan Nachbar Radoslav Nesterović Alen Omić Sašo Ožbolt Klemen Prepelič Hasan Rizvić Uroš Slokar

Marko Tušek Beno Udrih Samo Udrih Gašper Vidmar Miha Zupan Vitaly Nosov Nemanja Aleksandrov Marko Marinović Ender Arslan Jimmy Oliver Deon Thompson Borut Bassin Krešimir Ćosić Radisav Ćurčić Ivo Daneu Vinko Jelovac Pavle Polanec Slobodan Subotić Peter Vilfan Jure Zdovc Aljoša Žorga

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  :

• 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

Domestic competitions

Slovenian League

• 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

Slovenian Cup

• 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

Slovenian Supercup

• Winners (7): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013
• Runners-up (4): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014

Former domestic competitions

Yugoslav League

• Winners (6): 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969–70
• Runners-up (8): 1953, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1967, 1967–68, 1968–69

Yugoslav Cup

• Runners-up (5): 1960, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1986–87

Yugoslav League (1. B)

• Winners (2): 1984–85, 1986–87

Slovenian League (SR)

• Winners (2): 1946, 1947

European competitions

FIBA European Champions Cup / Euroleague

• Final Four (2): 1967, 1997

FIBA Saporta Cup

• Winners (1): 1993–94

Regional competitions

Adriatic League

• Winners (1): 2001–02
• Runners-up (1): 2010–11

Central European League (SBA)

• Winners (2): 1993, 1994

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	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

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

• 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)

External links

• Official website (Slovene) (English)
• Euroleague.net Official team profile
• Basketpedya.com Profile