Dragons host Derthona at Stožice on Wednesday

Cedevita Olimpija will host Italy’s Baglietto Derthona Tortona on Wednesday at 18:30 at Arena Stožice in Round 6 of the BKT EuroCup regular season. Coming off Saturday’s win over FMP, the Dragons will be chasing their first victory in the European competition, while Derthona, making its first-ever BKT EuroCup appearance, arrives in Ljubljana with a … Continued

Cedevita Olimpija will play its second straight game on home court at Arena Stožice. The Ljubljana side opened its European season with a loss in Burgos (81:85), then fell at Stožice to Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem (64:75), in Riga to Riga Zelli (79:89) and at home to Le Mans (66:84). Last Wednesday in Thessaloniki, they also went down 73:78 to unbeaten Aris Thessaloniki.

On Saturday, the Dragons beat FMP 96:87 at Stožice in the AdmiralBet ABA League, snapping a losing streak across both competitions. Against the Italian side, they will now look to seize the chance to record their first European win of the 2026/27 season. Head coach Zvezdan Mitrović will again be without the injured Cameron Houindo and Brandon Murray.

To avoid congestion in the Stožice garage, we recommend that all fans set off for the game in good time, at least 60 minutes earlier than usual, and use public transport. With a game ticket, you can ride Ljubljana Passenger Transport (LPP) buses free of charge from three hours before the game until three hours after it ends.

If you are coming by car, please park in the car parks near Stožice (Žale I, Žale II, Žale III, Žale IV, Žale V, Kranjčeva and Gosarjeva), as the garage next to Arena Stožice will only be open until its limited number of spaces is filled.

TICKETS:

Tickets for Wednesday’s game are available at vstopnice.olimpija.com, Eventim Slovenia and at all Petrol service stations across Slovenia. Tickets for secondary school students are available for €5. The box office in front of the arena will open at 17:30 on Wednesday.

TV BROADCAST:

The game will be broadcast live on Šport TV 1, with studio coverage starting at 17:45.

GAME-DAY EXPERIENCE – HIGH SCHOOL NIGHT:

Wednesday’s game will be High School Night, organised together with the Ljubljana Student Council (Dijaška skupnost Ljubljana) for secondary school students. Basketball is more than the score on the board. It is about getting together, music, friends and a shared experience. That is why we want to bring Stožice closer to those who do not usually follow our games. Student Night is an invitation to join us in the stands with your classmates, your whole class or even half your school.

FAN ZONE

On this night, students will not just be spectators but part of the show. The fan zone will offer face painting and a photo backdrop, and students can test themselves in shooting, cornhole and short skills challenges. DJ Pick’n’Roll will provide the soundtrack, and Oli will be among the students, ready for group photos, challenges and spontaneous moments in front of the camera.

The evening will be tied together by the Student Passport. Students who complete three short challenges in the fan zone will be entered into a prize draw. A 1+1 offer on sweet soft drinks will also be available to students on the night.

SCHOOLS BATTLE FOR THE LOUDEST STAND

The stands will be lively during the game as well. Secondary schools will compete in cheering, judged on volume, chants and the originality of their fan groups. The host will invite classes to take part in a special cheering challenge, and fans will be able to predict the final score via a QR code.

Gather your classmates and join us at Stožice on Wednesday. Show us which school has the loudest stand!

PRE-GAME QUOTES:

“Derthona is an extremely well-built team. They have excellent players at every position, even though their results so far may not yet reflect the team’s true quality. It is a new team that clearly still needs some time to fully click. They have a lot of physically strong and athletic players, especially in the paint, where they are also very dangerous on the boards. We will have to answer their physical game with the same level of toughness, energy and determination. We are all well aware of how important this game is for us. Above all, we have to focus on ourselves, analyse our game and fix our shortcomings. I am pleased that, for the first time in a while, we have a somewhat deeper rotation, especially in the frontcourt. That gives us more options with our line-ups and the distribution of minutes, which is something we were really missing in recent games. Right now, the most important thing for us is to focus on our own game and our progress,”Cedevita Olimpija head coach Zvezdan Mitrović said at Monday’s media availability.

“We know a tough test awaits us. We did not start the European season the way we wanted to, and we are certainly not satisfied with our current record. Still, we are not hanging our heads. We are working hard in practice and looking for a way out of this situation. I am convinced that a first European win would give us an important boost of confidence. In our last game against Aris, we showed real character, fought for all 40 minutes and came very close. Now we want to bring that fight to our home court, take another step forward and earn our first EuroCup win in front of our fans,” David Škara said ahead of Wednesday’s game.

“Whatever happens, it is clear that we have to win this game. There are no excuses. We are in a difficult position right now and this game is extremely important for us; you could even say it is one of our last chances to get into the race for advancement. We finally have to get our first home win in the EuroCup. We have already had a first look at Derthona in practice, and a more detailed analysis is still ahead of us. They are a well-organised team that likes to play fast, has quality big men and a lot of overall quality. We have shown some progress in our last two games, but in the end the result on the scoreboard is what matters most. We are happy that our game is improving, but progress alone is not enough. We need wins. Only when we start collecting them will we be truly satisfied,” Rihards Lomažs said ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Derthona.

GAME PREVIEW:

Baglietto Derthona Tortona is competing in the BKT EuroCup for the first time in club history this season, having entered the competition with a multi-year licence. The team is led by head coach Mario Fioretti, under whom Derthona reached the Italian Cup final last season.

The Italians’ European debut was a painful one, as they lost in Riga only in the final seconds (86:84 for Riga Zelli). A week later, they closed with a 9:0 run to beat Le Mans 89:83. After a loss to Aris in Thessaloniki (88:68), Derthona posted two home wins, both from behind. Against Burgos, it overturned a 13-point deficit early in the third quarter to win 89:79, and last Wednesday it trailed Rostock Seawolves 57:70 after three quarters before winning the fourth 29:13 and the game 86:83. Derthona is therefore unbeaten at home in the EuroCup, while it has lost both of its road games.

Giordano Bortolani led Tortona in scoring against Rostock with 16 points, after also topping the team with 18 against Burgos. Prentiss Hubb added 15, Aljami Durham 13 and Karim Jallow 10, while former Dragon Amar Alibegović hit back-to-back threes to give Derthona its first lead of the game (73:72). Justin Gorham was one of the key men in the win over Le Mans with 20 points. Derthona averages 83.2 points per game in the EuroCup and allows 83.8.

On Sunday, in Round 6 of the Italian league, Derthona lost 77:86 to Old Wild West Udine in Udine. The visitors went up 52:47 after an 8:0 run early in the second half, but the hosts answered with an 8:0 run of their own to retake the lead before the fourth quarter and held it to the end. Dante Maddox Jr. led Derthona with 28 points, Durham added 10 and Gorham nine. It was Derthona’s fifth straight league loss.

In Round 5 in Thessaloniki, the Dragons, without head coach Zvezdan Mitrović and four injured or ill players, went toe-to-toe with group leaders Aris for most of the game. They led by a point at half-time (39:38) and the score was tied going into the fourth quarter (57:57), before Aris decided the game in the closing minutes. Matthew Hurt led Cedevita Olimpija with 19 points, Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 14, and Rihards Lomažs and Noah Kirkwood added 12 each.

Against FMP on Saturday, the Dragons fell behind 6:9 early before a 14:0 run put them in control; they won the first quarter 27:18 and led 54:45 at half-time. When FMP cut the gap to two points in the third quarter, the Ljubljana side responded with an 11:2 run to go up 74:63 and held the lead to the end. Jordan Gainey led Cedevita Olimpija with 17 points, Anthony Cowan Jr. had 14 points and 11 assists, Matthew Hurt scored 14, and David Škara added nine points and nine rebounds.

Cedevita Olimpija and Derthona will meet in an official game for the first time on Wednesday. Their second regular-season meeting will take place in Tortona on 6 January 2027.

BKT EUROCUP – GROUP A, REGULAR SEASON, ROUND 6

Arena Stožice (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Wednesday, 4 November, 18:30:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – BAGLIETTO DERTHONA TORTONA (buy tickets; live on Šport TV 1)

GROUP A STANDINGS

LOOKING AHEAD:

On Saturday at 17:00, the Dragons will visit Borac Mozzart in Čačak in Round 7 of the first phase of the AdmiralBet ABA League. On Tuesday, 10 November, at 20:00, they will face Rostock Seawolves in Rostock in Round 7 of the BKT EuroCup regular season.