Justus Hollatz is coming to Ljubljana!

Cedevita Olimpija has started putting together a team, which we will be able to follow on the floor in the 2023/24 season. The young German National Team players Justus Hollatz, who spent last season in the jersey of the Spanish club Breogán, is coming to Ljubljana.

At the playing position of Point Guard, we will be able to follow the German National Team player Justus Hollatz, who is moving to Ljubljana from Spain, in the jersey of Cedevita Olimpija for the coming three seasons. In the 2022/23 season, Hollatz wore the jersey of Breogán, and before that he wore the jersey of Hamburg Towers for four seasons, with whom he also appeared in the 7DAYS EuroCup.

“Justus Hollatz is a Nationa Team player for Germany who, at the age of 22, already has experience playing in the 7DAYS EuroCup, where he spent one season, and at the same time playing in the Spanish ACB League, which is considered the strongest domestic league in Europe. We are glad that he has decided to join us. Primarily, Hollatz is a playmaker, but his height allows him to play the other two outside positions as well, making him a very versatile player. The fact that he was in the shortlist for the best young player of the ACB League last season’s speaks for itself. We believe that in the Cedevita Olimpija jersey, Hollatz can raise his game to a higher level, and at the same time, with his games, help us achieve our goals,” Cedevita Olimpija sports director Vlado Ilievski said about Hollatz.

“I am happy, because this is our first step in a new cycle of work. Justus Hollatz is a young player, but he already has experience playing in the European Cup and the German National Team. Last season he played in a strong league in Spain, where he was able to learn from a good coach, but at the same time he had a lot of responsibility. He is a modern player, because he is primarily a Point Guard with height, and therefore he can play in several positions, and at the same time, we can more easily look for players that we want to add to our team, of course, with our thoughts on what will be on the market. He is motivated to progress, and we have the same motivation,” said Dragons’ head coach, Simone Pianigiani, upon announcing the first addition to Cedevita Olimpija’s team this summer.

“I am grateful that I will have the opportunity to play for a team with such a great history. I am really happy. I know that the last season was hard for Cedevita Olimpija, but I want the upcoming one to be better in all international competitions. I will do everything the team asked of me, but at the same time I’m already looking forward to meeting the fans and people in Ljubljana. I’m looking forward to coming to Slovenia, and I can’t wait to meet my teammates and start working with members of the coaching staff,” Hollatz upon announcement of the signing with Cedevita Olimpija.

With Hamburg Towers, Hollatz played in 13 matches in the European Cup in the 2021/22 season, eight of which he started in the starting five. He averaged 8.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game in just over 20 minutes he averaged on the floor. The German international, who was born in Hamburg, wore the jersey of Breogán last season and played in 34 ACB League games and averaged 7.9 points, 3.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game.

On the international stage, Hollatz made his first appearance in senior competition in the qualifiers for EuroBasket 2022 and played in two games, and later stepped on the floor four times at last year’s EuroBasket and averaged 1.3 points and 2.8 assists. He got many more opportunities to play in the qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup, where he played in 12 games and averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game. Justus can also be found on the extended list of the German national team for the upcoming World Cup.