Cedevita Olimpija Begin Preparations for the New Season at Stožice

Following the summer break, Cedevita Olimpija’s senior team gathered at Stožice and began preparations for the 2026/27 season. Last week, the Dragons completed their initial testing and medical examinations and worked individually, while Monday marked the start of team practices on the court.

Following the summer break, Cedevita Olimpija’s senior team is back together. On Monday, the Dragons gathered at Stožice in a slightly different lineup, officially beginning preparations for the new season, in which they will compete in the AdmiralBet ABA League, BKT EuroCup and competitions organized by the Basketball Federation of Slovenia. Last week, the players completed their initial physical testing and medical examinations, while also following individual training programmes. On Saturday morning, they also took part in a short team outing, heading for a walk up Rožnik and through Tivoli Park. The team will now begin group practices, with the intensity of training gradually increasing.

Due to national team commitments, the squad is currently still incomplete, while the roster-building process ahead of the 2026/27 season has also not yet been completed. Rok Radović, Miha Cerkvenik and David Škara are still away with their respective national teams, either preparing for or competing in the FIBA World Cup 2027 qualification window. Head coach Zvezdan Mitrović is also absent at the start of preparations due to his national team commitments. In his absence, practices will be led by assistant coaches Đorđe Adžić and Dalibor Damjanović, with Grega Nachbar and Miljan Goljović also assisting on the court. Alongside the strength and conditioning staff, several coaches from Cedevita Olimpija’s youth teams will also be involved in the training process.

On Monday, the players who were already members of the Dragons last season and were present at Stožice were Jaka Blažič, Cameron Houindo and Derin Can Ustun. Among the familiar faces, in addition to the players currently away with their national teams, Matthew Hurt and Maks Ciperle were also absent, with both set to join the team on Tuesday. New arrivals Brandon Murray, Anthony Cowan Jr., Jordan Gainey, Noah Kirkwood and Jayce Johnson arrived in Ljubljana last week and took to the Stožice court for the first time on Monday. Several young players from the Cedevita Olimpija system also took part in the opening team practice – Uroš Stjepanović, Bine Pregl, Djibril Samba Gueye, Mark Hukić, Dan Matondo Lukanu and Jaka Jagodnik. Roman Kolka will join the team in the coming days.

“The summer was like any other – we had a lot of work to do. At one point, we thought we had completed everything, and then two or three more changes happened in a single day. I think we did a good job. We are still active on the market. We need two more players to complete the roster. We are looking for a big man and a combo guard,” Cedevita Olimpija sporting director Chechu Mulero said during a meeting with members of the media. “Compared to last season, the team will be more or less different. We lost some players, but we brought in quality new additions, and I think the replacements will be good.”

“The primary task for the entire coaching staff is to prepare the team as well as possible for the arrival of head coach Zvezdan Mitrović once he completes his national team commitments. That is when we will be able to focus more seriously on the basketball and tactical aspects,” assistant coach Đorđe Adžić said ahead of the first practice. “Our main goal, therefore, is to make sure the players are as well prepared as possible, primarily physically but also from a basketball perspective, so that we can start working on more specific aspects once Zvezdan joins the team and the remaining players have completed their national team duties.”

“Just like every season, we are all excited ahead of the start. We had a good summer, and now we are ready to work and prepare well for the new season. Right now, it is important that we get to know each other, and I need to be one of the links between everyone, helping us connect and build that chemistry. We keep emphasizing chemistry, but it really is important to create a healthy environment where everyone feels good,” Jaka Blažič said as the team practices got underway. “We have a coach who doesn’t leave much to chance when it comes to roles on the court. So my job is more about what happens off the court – to establish, as I mentioned, that chemistry and good, healthy relationships that we then maintain throughout the entire season. As long as I enjoy coming to practice and can keep running around after these young guys, I will play. So we’ll take it practice by practice, season by season, and see where it takes us.”

“When you’re in your sixth year, you start to understand things a little better, especially coming to Europe and living here as a foreigner. Things start to settle down a bit. It’s pretty crazy when I think about being one of the older guys in the group now. Over the past few days, I’ve mainly been getting used to the city, getting some workouts in and getting to know everyone else. It’s been a really good few days,” Anthony Cowan Jr. said during his meeting with the media. “First, we have to get through the first team practice. The season is very long, so it’s difficult to think that far ahead already. It’s only the first week, so right now I want to focus on taking things one day at a time.”

The Dragons now face an intensive preparation period, during which they will play six preseason games. These games will give the coaching staff an opportunity to build team chemistry, integrate the new additions into the Dragon Family and prepare for the start of the competitive season.

Cedevita Olimpija will play its first preseason game on 27 August, when they will face ECE Triglav Kranj in Ljubljana. Three days later, on 30 August, the Dragons will host Austrian side Kapfenberg in the Slovenian capital. The team will then move to Kranjska Gora for a week, where they will play two preseason games – against Laško on 4 September and Montenegrin side Budućnost VOLI two days later. The first away game of the preseason will take place on 10 September in Udine, where the Ljubljana side will face local team Udine. After returning to Ljubljana, the Dragons will play Cibona at Stožice on 14 September. The preseason will conclude on 20 September in Italy, where Cedevita Olimpija will face Trieste.

Cedevita Olimpija’s first official game of the 2026/27 season will take place on 17 September, when the Dragons will face Krka in the 2026 Slovenian Super Cup in Nova Gorica.