Basketball
The Croatian Basketball Team is another pearl among Croatian sports teams. Before Croatia gained its independence its basketball players played international matches under the flag of Yugoslavia. Some memorable players from the ‘80s when Croatia was still part of Yugoslavia are KreÅ¡imir Ćosić, Petar Skansi, Zdravko Radulović… After the break from Yugoslavia, most famous players that used to play for the Yugoslav team continued playing for the Croatian team.
When it comes to World Championships, the Croatian team only attended one, in 1994. They ended up 3rd. Two years earlier, they were 2nd at the Olympics.
The team achieved good results at the European Championship. 1993 was the year of warming up, getting to know their rivals and finally, the year of their first performance at the European Championship. The team ended up 3rd.
Two years later, we witnessed the same scenario. At the European Championship they finished 3rd. Both in 1997 and 1999 they were 11th. In 2001 they improved themselves and ended up 7th. Two years later, they had the same success as in 1999 — they were 11th. 2005 was not their year. They attended the European Championship but finished 7th.
The team has no major achievements but Croatian basketball is one of the most popular sports in the country. Local teams play a huge role in making Croatian sports teams known world wide.
Cibona Zagreb Basketball Club (Košarkaški Klub Cibona), founded in 1946, is the most successful club in Croatia and is constantly amongst the best European basketball clubs. They won the Euroleague trophies in 1985 and 1986. They also won the Championship of Yugoslavia 3 times (1982, 1984 and 1985). We can see how powerful the club is from the fact that they won the Championship of Croatia 12 times. In 2003, however, they left empty-handed when the Basketball Team Split won the championship.
Also, Cibona won 5 Croatian Cups (1995, 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2002), 8 Yugoslav Cups (1969, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1988), the Korać Cup in 1972 and the Euroleague Opening Tournament in 2001.
Another famous basketball club from Croatia is the previously mentioned Basketball Club Split (KoÅ¡arkaÅ¡ki Klub Split). They are the only team aside from ASK Riga, that won the Euroleague trophy 3 times in a row. In 1989, 1990 and 1991 the club was known as Jugoplastika and POP 84. Those were the years to remember — led by the worldwide known players such as Toni Kukoč, Dino Rađa and Žan Tabak, they won the top European basketball trophy.
As we already said, KK Split won the National Championship of Croatia back in 2003. They won 6 Championships of Yugoslavia (1971, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991), 5 National Cups of Yugoslavia (1972, 1974, 1977, 1990 and 1991), 5 KreÅ¡imir Ćosić Cups (1992, 1993, 1994, 1997 and 2004) and 2 Korać Cups (1976 and 1977).
KK Zadar is another famous club from Croatia making up a famous trilogy along with Split and Cibona. Even though basketball first came to Zadar in 1925, the club was established only 20 years later, in 1945. Zadar won 6 Championships of Yugoslavia (1964/65, 1966/67, 1967/68, 1973/74, 1974/75, 1985/86), 1 Yugoslav Cup in 1969/1970 and 6 Cups of Croatia (1997/98, 1999/2000, 2002/03, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07). KK Zadar earned the title of the winner of the Championship of Croatia in 2004/05. Winning the Adriatic League in 2002/03 is considered the club’s greatest achievement.