Jaka Blažič returns to Cedevita Olimpija!

Slovenian national team player Jaka Blažič returns to the Cedevita Olimpija jersey. The popular ‘Blažo’, who was chosen as the first captain in 2019, upon the merger of Zagreb’s Cedevita and Ljubljana’s Olimpija, spent the 2022/23 season in Turkey, but now we will be able to follow him again in the jersey of the Ljubljana Dragons.

After the season he spent in Turkey, Jaka Blažič is returning to Ljubljana’s Cedevita Olimpija. In Cedevita Olimpija’s jersey, Blažič became Slovenian national champion twice, in 2022 he won the title of cup champion, and the Dragons also won the title of Slovenian Supercup champion three times.

“We are honestly extremely happy that one of the faces of Cedevita Olimpija in the last decade is returning to our club after a one-year break. We believe that he will once again take on the role of one of the leaders, and that he will set an example for others with his approach and work in the coming season. Jaka is a top-notch person and professional, we are really looking forward to working with him. I think he is the right person for our young team and I believe he will be a true leader on and off the floor,” said Sports Director of Cedevita Olimpija, Vlado Ilievski.

“Jaka Blažič is one of the players that everyone throughout Europe knows, as he has more than proven himself in his career, and we are extremely happy that he has joined us. It is very important that Jaka was extremely motivated to return home, and that he recognized our vision, where he will be surrounded by young players who want to take the next step in their careers. With his experience and work ethic, as well as the ability to adapt to what is happening on the court, Jaka will be a great addition to our team,” Dragons strategist Simone Pianigiani said upon signing the contract with Blažič.

“I am very happy that I am returning to Ljubljana after one season, and I hope that together we will once again write a successful story that will be attractive to everyone who supports Cedevita Olimpija. After parting ways with club in Turkey, the Ljubljana club became very active immediately. There are many things that bind me to the club and Ljubljana, so the decision was not difficult,” said Jaka Blažič upon returning to Dragons family.

Jaka Blažič started his professional sports career in 2007 in the jersey of Triglav from Carniola, and after two years of playing for the Gorenjska team, he went to Ljubljana for the first time and wore the jersey of Slovan in 2009. He also stayed at Kodeljevo for two years, and then in 2011 he transferred to the then Union Olimpija. The path then led him to Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, Baskonia, Andorra and Barcelona, and before the start of the 2019/20 season, he returned to Cedevita Olimpija and played in 21 matches, in 28.5 minutes, in the regional competition in the 2019/20 competitive season. which he beat on the court, averaging 15.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. In the 7DAYS EuroCup, captain Zmajev averaged 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in 27.5 minutes. He was named the round’s most valuable player of the regular season of the ABA League three times, and with this achievement he became the only basketball player who performed on the regional scene in the prematurely ended 2019/20 season.

In the 2020/21 season, Blažič was selected as the most valuable player of the month in the regional league in November. In the end, Jaka was also selected in the First Team of the regional competition for the 2020/21 season, and at the same time he was part of the Second Team of the 7DAYS EuroCup competition. Blažič also concluded the European Cup as the top scorer in the 2020/21 competitive season, with an average of 19.1 points per game.

In the 2021/22 season, the last one that Blažič spent at Cedevita Olimpija, he scored 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in the 7DAYS EuroCup, and recorded 14.1 points in the regional league. 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 rebounds per faceoff. Blažič was selected in the second five in the European Cup, and in the regional league he was selected in the Ideal Five for the second season in a row.

After the end of the 2021/22 season, Blažič moved to the Turkish team Bahçeşehir Koleji, where he played in 11 games of the Champions League this season, averaging 5.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. In the Turkish national championship, he scored 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists, and played in 13 games.

Jaka is also a permanent member of the Slovenian men’s national team, with which he won the title of European champion in 2017, and in 2021 he won fourth place at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. In the qualifiers for this year’s World Cup, he played in seven games and averaged 10.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists, and at last year’s EuroBasket he also appeared in seven games, scoring 8.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists.