CIBONA

I still remember the first season of the Adriatic League. There was no drug in the cold Zetra viewers. Bosnia won two victories in this premier edition of this competition, and during the mandate of Draško Prodanovic he has drawn over 20 players. The best shooter of the league was Marino Baždarić, then Rijeka player, Triglav Osiguranja, as they were called at that time. Baždarić was also 13 years later in the league. His team-mates in the Cedevita training center cloaked a picture of this season, which he is set to miss, only with the ball in his hand - a huge brick.

During the ABA League we did not see too much surprises. The biggest one a few days ago was held by Zadar, who in 2003 defeated Maccabi from Tel Aviv in Ljubljana and won the trophy. Zadar had Marko Popovic in top form, Michaela Meeksa, Canada's representative, and nine-player rotation, where there was no room for then 19-year-old Marko Banić. Maccabi was extremely strong (Vujcic, Goree, Lewis, Sharp, Burstein, Bluthental, Udrih, Bechok), but they were looking for their identity after leaving Huffman and McDonald, and they just completed the team that won two Euroliga in a row.

Somewhere near this success of Zadar there are also two Reflex trophies, ie FMP. Especially the first one, won in Zagreb, with injured Reggie Freeman in the final against Cibona, which was then played today by two coaches - Slaven Rimac and Jurica Golemac. The second was in Sarajevo against Partizan. Both triumphs with the difference point. Krka played F4 in 2011 when it was a little anticipated. The first place in the league last season won Igokea.

Cibona in the Belgrade Arena exceeded all that. Both Zadar and Reflex-FMP, Hemofarm, and Krk and Igoke. Never the less resourceful team with the worse situation in the club, with a shorter rotation of players and coaches, did not win this competition.

Cibona is one of the largest clubs in the ex-Yu area. A double European champion. Dražen Petrović. Mirko Novosel. Perhaps also the best team in the field that was seen in this area. The first ones had the best conditions. The first ones had their own hall. Even the collapse of Yugoslavia did not affect Cibona, moreover. They became Croatian Maccabees. The most expensive paid domestic players, the best foreigners, the best deals, the withdrawal of young players who like it. Regular participation in Euroliga.I so until a few years ago ...
When 10 days ago we went to Cibona's training in the "Box of matches", they seemed oblivious to everyone.

From the nearby fitness center, someone would occasionally try to look at where the TV crew are and what they are doing, in the style of "Is anyone interested in Cibona yet?"

A professional man of two men. Team manager who has five more club functions. Equipment that looks like it was made from home. There was only one player in the training that he could play five to five ... Again, the love and respect between them were visible even after five minutes. The Blassing was scorned by the rest of the team, Šarić finished free kick on handball, they all flipped and shaken after a good move. Slaven Rimac emitted some strange silence. He looked and sounded like a man who deeply believes in his team and his players regardless of circumstances. Otherwise, I guess and can not work under the given conditions.
After the departure of Nevena Spahija, Strawberry, Janning and Žižić, Cibona had a visit to Kragujevac somewhere around the New Year. The defeats are in an uncertain ending. After the match, people close to Cibona thought loudly: "I do not know how to stay in the league at all. Our situation is desperate."

Cibona managed to keep Darko Planinić, who was far from the right form. Ivan Siriščević, who signed literally for apartment and food, was brought to the chips. A series of wins went to the team that saw a payout from the beginning of the season, whose 20-year-old was playing, whose career "cared for" the tens of baba, who had a single center, and at some moments only one change. The organization of the game was left to a sporadic US 175cm long, balancing between lost balls and love problems. Somehow, very often inexplicable, this company was down to F4.