KK Zagreb
| KK Zagreb | |||
| Nickname | mravi (the ants) | ||
| Founded | 1970 | ||
| Hall |
Sportska dvorana Trnsko (2,500 seats) |
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| president | Before that, Jelavić | ||
| Trainer | Danijel Jusup | ||
| league |
A-1 League 2009/10: 4th place |
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Adriatic Basketball League 2010/11: 5th place |
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KK Zagreb is a basketball club from Zagreb , Croatia . He currently plays in the Croatian first division.
history
The Zagreb basketball club was founded in 1970 under the name KK Siget . In the 1976 season the name was changed to OKK Novi Zagreb . Through hard work, the club rose step by step through the leagues of the former Yugoslavia until they arrived in the first division of the republic in 1989, which was then one of the strongest in Europe. Since the club has always been financially weak, the focus was on hard work and euphoria to keep the club alive. Therefore, the ant was chosen as the club's mascot in order to showcase the tireless efforts. Apart from that, the Novi Zagreb district was known for the fact that, due to the accumulation of ants in the area, this tiny creature was almost kept as a pet.
The 'ants from Trnsko' have been called KK Zagreb since 1991. In the first Croatian league, which was founded in the Balkans after the civil war , they played an important role from the start, as they were able to successfully stand up to the big three, KK Cibona , KK Split and KK Zadar . The best place in the regular competition was the third place in 1993, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2004. They also qualified for the semi-finals of the play-offs in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
In the Croatian Cup (today Kup Krešimira Ćosića named after Krešimir Ćosić ) they reached the final four six times, in 1998 even the final.
It has been participating in European competitions since 1992. The best result was the final in the Korać Cup in 1993, which had been lost to FC Barcelona .
One focus of the club's policy is the promotion of youth players. So it is not surprising that the average age of the professional team is around 20 years. There are currently over 500 basketball players in the individual youth categories. In Croatia, KK Zagreb is a synonym for following one's own youth. The reason for this is the already mentioned financial side of the association, which has not improved even after Croatia's independence. We are proud of the silver medal of the Croatian youth national team from 2001, in which four ants were actively involved.
In contrast to the professional club, the youth club can look forward to two championship titles. So it was possible to win the title twice in the years 2002-2004. For the past five years, they have regularly participated in the country's finals. Another three championship titles come together in the younger categories. The current Croatian national team consists of three former players from the KK Zagreb, the brothers Ivan and Marko Tomas and Damir Miljković .
Since the introduction of the ABA -Liga one has participated more or less regularly, but has not yet achieved any notable successes.
On October 4th 2007 a new main sponsor was found. With the signing of the contracts, the association also changes its name and will be called KK Zagreb CO for the next four years . The CO stands for the main sponsor Croatia osiguranje (insurance company).
See also: Basketball in Croatia
Hall
The ŠD Trnsko grandstands in the Novi Zagreb district hold 2,500 seats and extend right up to the field of play. It is a multifunctional hall and, in addition to basketball, also includes clubs from the sports of volleyball, handball, indoor soccer, table tennis, rhythmic gymnastics, badminton, karate and other martial arts. In the 25-year history of the hall, individual competitions at the Universiade 1987 and the 2nd military world championships in 1999 have also been held. In recent years the traditional 'Croatia karate kup' has also been held in the hall on a regular basis. In the summer of 2006 it was also used for the women's volleyball championship (juniors).
successes
- 1 × Croatian championship: 2011
- 3 × Kup Krešimir Čosić (Croatian Cup): 2008, 2010, 2011