Club Profile: Cedevita Zagreb

Aug 26, 2015 by Euroleague.net Print
Club Profile: Cedevita Zagreb

Cedevita Zagreb is coming off one of the most successful seasons in club history, in which the club assumed a long-coming role as a domestic powerhouse and a Turkish Airlines Euroleague regular. Last season a young Cedevita squad recorded Euroleague regular season wins against Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv and ALBA Berlin, before continuing its journey in the Eurocup and reaching the eighthfinals where it was ousted after two close games by eventual runner-up Gran Canaria. The club from the Croatian capital had more success at home and reached the Adriatic League finals, where it lost to Crvena Zvezda 3-1 before taking its second consecutive Croatian Cup and League double. Cedevita beat KK Zadar in the cup finals before defeating city-rival Cibona 3-1 in the Croatian League final series. It was the second consecutive championship for the club with a long-term vision, but that was only founded in 1991 under the name KK Botinec. The team climbed to the second division in 1998 and reached the Croatian elite in 2002. It finished fifth overall in its first season among Croatia’s best and ambitions promptly rose when a big sponsor, Atlantic Grupa, took over and the club changed its name to KK Cedevita in 2005. Continuing to improve, it reached the Croatian League semifinals for the first time in 2009-10 and also finished seventh in its Adriatic League debut, however nobody expected what came next. Cedevita shocked everyone in the 2010-11 Eurocup when it downed Dynamo Moscow in the qualifying round, then survived the regular season and the Last 16 before knocking off Asefa Estudiantes in the quarterfinals to get to the Eurocup Finals – an unthinkable result even for the club's biggest fans. Unics Kazan halted its great run in the semifinals, but Cedevita had written a brilliant page in competition history. Dontaye Draper was named Eurocup MVP, Aco Petrovic received the Best Coach award and players like Bracey Wright, Vedran Vukusic, Marino Bazdaric and Damjan Rudez also played valuable roles in the club's fantastic run. Cedevita then reached its first Croatian League finals, but was swept by Zagreb. In 2011-12, Cedevita struggled early and missed the Eurocup Last 16, but rebounded to win its first-ever title – the Croatian Cup - behind the performance of veteran forward Matjaz Smodis. Cedevita later reached the Adriatic League title game and the Croatian League finals to complete an outstanding season, but Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv and Cibona, respectively, stood in its way of more trophies. Domestic success led Cedevita to its Euroleague debut in 2012-13 season, which it finished with 2-8 record. That turned out to be a title-free season, but the last such for Cedevita. With the arrival of head coach Jasmin Repesa came the first of two seasons where club reached the Adriatic League finals and celebrated a Croatian double – a historic success capped with a finals sweep of Cibona. With more Croatian trophies and Euroleague experience under its belt, Cedevita looks to grow its appetite and challenge the best on the continent in its third Euroleague appearance in four years.

2014-15 Results - Euroleague: Regular Season; Eurocup: Eighthfinals; Adriatic League: finalist; Croatian League: winner; Croatian Cup: winner

Cedevita Zagreb celebrates - EC14 (photo Cedevita)