Eurocup

Five-time Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia champion MZT Skopje returns to the 7DAYS EuroCup after two years away. The club made history in the 2013-14 season when it became the first team from FYROM to compete in the EuroCup. Founded in 1966 as BC Skopje in former Yugoslavia, the club spent more than 20 years in lower regional leagues. But when the BC Skopje came under the patronage of local industrial giant MZT in 1984 and changed its name, it took only two years to achieve great success and climb into the elite division of Yugoslav basketball, which gave MZT an opportunity to host some of best European teams of that period – Cibona Zagreb, Jugoplastika Split, Zadar, Crvena Zvezda and Partizan Belgrade. After FYROM became an independent country, MZT was one of the most-relevant factors in the first decade of the young nation’s basketball competitions. It first reached the league finals in 1993, and did that three more times in the next five years, but KK Rabotnicki stood in its way over and over again. However, MZT had more luck in the FYROM Cup, which it lifted in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000, and played in two more finals. The club also made six consecutive appearances in European competitions, hosting the likes of Zalgiris Kaunas, Cholet Basket, Asvel Villeurbanne and KK Split in front of a wild atmosphere at Jane Sandanski Arena, but the most memorable of all was a 69-68 home victory over mighty Real Madrid in Saporta Cup action. After the turn of the century, MZT lost two more league finals against Rabotnicki and had to wait until 2012 to claim its first national title. That year, MZT also won the Cup for a historic double and its dominance continued next season with another double – league and cup titles. During that 2012-13 season, MZT made its Adriatic League debut, too, and placed seventh, consequently securing a EuroCup spot the following season. MZT’s debut in the competition finished with a 1-9 regular season record, but the team continued to dominate its country's domestic competitions. Over the past three seasons MZT won as many national championship titles, and a pair of doubles, including last season when it beat Karpos Sokoli in the Cup final and downed Kumanovo 3-1 in the best-of-five league playoffs final series. MZT hopes to use its winning mentality to be just as competitive in the 2016-17 EuroCup.

Trophy Case