Finals of the Domestic League start in Novo mesto on Tuesday

Ahead of Cedevita Olimpija’s basketball team lies the season’s final act – the championship final series against Krka Novo Mesto. The eternal derby, which will determine the national champion, begins with the first game on Tuesday at 6:00 PM in the Leona Štuklja Sports Hall. The teams will play a best-of-five series.

Cedevita Olimpija will face Krka Novo Mesto in a best-of-five national championship final series. The clash between the Ljubljana and Novo Mesto teams, considered Slovenia’s eternal basketball derby, marks Krka’s first appearance in the national championship final since 2021, and it will be the eleventh time the two teams compete for the national title in history. Currently, the Novo Mesto team holds the edge, having won six of the previous ten finals, while the Dragons have triumphed four times.

The final series begins on Tuesday at 6:00 PM, with the first game scheduled at the Leona Štuklja Sports Hall. The second game will see the teams clash in Stožice on Thursday at 8:00 PM, with the third game set for Saturday at 6:00 PM, back in Novo Mesto. Potential fourth and fifth games are scheduled for the following Monday in Ljubljana and the following Thursday in Novo mesto, both starting at 6:00 PM.

In the finals, Cedevita Olimpija’s players will aim to secure their fifth consecutive national championship title, their 13th consecutive trophy in competitions under the Slovenian Basketball Federation, and their 22nd national championship title in independent Slovenia. In the 2024/25 competitive season, the Dragons won the Super Cup title in Laško last September and claimed the Spar Cup title in February.

In the 2024/25 season, the Dragons will appear in the national championship final for the 30th time in independent Slovenia. Only eight times has the Ljubljana club failed to win the national championship title, with Krka (2003, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Helios (2007), and Primorska (2019) defeating them in the finals.

On their path to the final series, Cedevita Olimpija eliminated GGD Šenčur in the quarterfinals and Terme Olimia Podčetrtek in the semifinals, both series concluding after two games. Krka needed three games to defeat ECE Triglav Kranj in the quarterfinals and won their semifinal matchup against Ilirija after two games.

Cedevita Olimpija will enter the final series without Devin Robinson, who ended his season due to a thigh muscle injury, as well as DJ Stewart and Andrija Stipanović, who were not registered for the national championship. For the first and second games, the team will be led from the bench by assistant head coach Đorđe Adžić.

TV BROADCAST:

The games will be broadcast live on Šport TV, and links to online streams for individual games can be found below.

STATEMENTS BEFORE THE FINAL SERIES:

“Happy to be in the national championship final and to face Krka. Congratulations to the Novo Mesto team for reaching the final series, and we also wish Ilirija the best of luck in their qualifications for a spot in the regional league. We’ve had enough time to rest after the series against Dubai and Podčetrtek and to prepare for the final. We’re not shying away from the role of favorites, but we all know what the playoffs mean, so we’re taking it game by game,” said assistant head coach of Cedevita Olimpija’s senior team, Đorđe Adžić, ahead of the final series. Adžić will lead the Dragons from the bench in the first two games of the series, as head coach Zvezdan Mitrović has been banned from coaching and performing other official duties for two games following a disciplinary complaint filed after the second semifinal game between the Ljubljana team and Terme Olimia Podčetrtek.

“Congratulations to Krka for reaching the final and for staying in the ABA League, which is no small feat. The final chapter of this season lies ahead of us. Both teams have shown solid performances during the playoffs, and reaching the final is a reward for everyone. We want to play the best and most beautiful basketball possible, we want as many fans as possible to come to the games, and may the best team win,” said Cedevita Olimpija’s captain, Jaka Blažič, who was part of the final series in 2021, the last time the two teams met in the national championship final.

GAME PREVIEW:

Cedevita Olimpija and Krka have faced each other four times in the 2024/25 competitive season. Two of those matchups were for Slovenian trophies, and two were in the regular season of the AdmiralBet ABA League. All four victories went to the Ljubljana team.

The teams first met this season at the Slovenian Super Cup in Laško, where the scoreboard showed 103:73 in favor of the Green-Orange squad. Ljubljana also secured a high-scoring victory in the Spar Cup final in February at Kodeljevo, with a score of 102:71 in favor of Cedevita Olimpija. In Laško, three players in Green-Orange jerseys—Žiga Daneu, Aleksej Nikolić, and Lemar—scored 16 points each, while Krka’s top scorers were Marc Garcia and Jakob Čebašek, each with 14 points. At Kodeljevo, Gregor Glas scored 21 points, Devante Jones added 17, and Krka’s Tayler Persons scored 14 points.

In the regional league, the teams first faced off on January 5, in what was the most thrilling of all three games, as it went to overtime. The hero in Cedevita Olimpija’s jersey was Brynton Lemar, who first tied the game with a basket in regulation to force overtime and then secured the victory for the Dragons with a layup after a drive (84:82). Devin Robinson and Jaka Blažič each scored 17 points, while Lemar and Rok Radović each added 10. For Krka, Tayler Persons scored 20 points, Miha Cerkvenik added 15, and Tibor Mirtić scored 14.

In the second regional league matchup, held in early May in Novo Mesto, the hosts started more energetically, leading by seven points after the first quarter and maintaining the lead until the start of the final quarter. They held a tangible lead at 71:65, but a 12-point run in two minutes by the Dragons led to a complete turnaround, with the final scoreboard showing 91:87 in favor of the Green-Orange. Cedevita Olimpija’s top scorer was Devin Robinson with 19 points, Brynton Lemar added 18, and both DJ Stewart and Rok Radović scored 10. For Krka, Persons scored 23 points, Robert Jurković added 12, Jakob Čebašek 11, and Jan Špan 10.

OTP BANK LEAGUE, FINAL SERIES

GAME 1

Leona Štuklja Sports Hall (Novo Mesto, Slovenia), Tuesday, June 3, at 6:00 PM:
KRKA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA (TV broadcast on Šport TV) [0:0]*

GAME 2

Stožice Arena (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Thursday, June 5, at 8:00 PM:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – KRKA (TV broadcast on Šport TV; free entry)

GAME 3

Leona Štuklja Sports Hall (Novo Mesto, Slovenia), Saturday, June 7, at 6:00 PM:
KRKA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA (TV broadcast on Šport TV)

GAME 4 **

Stožice Arena (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Monday, June 9, at 6:00 PM:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – KRKA (free entry)

GAME 5 **

Leona Štuklja Sports Hall (Novo Mesto, Slovenia), Thursday, June 12, at 6:00 PM:
KRKA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA

*Score in wins. The series is played to three wins.
**Potential fourth and fifth games.