Start of preparations for the new season

The basketball players of Cedevita Olimpija entered the new 2021/22 competition season on Monday in a slightly reduced line-up in the beauty of Stožen. The majority of the preparation period will be performed by the team of head coach Jurica Golemac in Ljubljana, only at the beginning of September they will spend a short period in Opatija, Croatia, where a preparatory tournament awaits them.

Head coach Jurica Golemac greeted the young players, Dan Duščak, Luka Ščuka, Alen Hodžić, Miha Cerkvenik, Žiga Daneu, Nil Jovanović and Robert Jurković, at Monday morning’s training, and Mangok Mathiang and Marko Radovanović, who will join the team at the evening’s training. they arrived in Ljubljana last weekend. All the remaining basketball players will join the team in the coming days.

“We are rested and full of enthusiasm for work. The preparation period for players is certainly not easy. We are waiting for everyone to come together and for the hard work to begin. At the beginning, of course, there will be a greater emphasis on gaining physical strength, and later it will be time to play tactics,” said the head coach of the Dragons, Jurica Golemac, after the introductory training. “All the players who come to the preparations know what awaits them. We were in contact with them throughout the summer, and the newcomers also communicated with our fitness trainer. We expect everyone to come optimally prepared so that we can move on to basketball itself, playing tactical ideas and playing five on five in the shortest possible time. We definitely need to do all the medical checkups first to see in what condition the guys will join us in the preparations, and that we can get them ready for work because we don’t want injuries to happen. We have enough time. We will intensify our work day by day.”

Of the players with more experience, only Alen Hodžić was present at Monday morning’s training session, winning his second career national title last season with Cedevita Olimpija.

“We are back in Stožice. I can’t wait for the season to start, and for all the other players to join us in the preparations, to get to know all the newcomers in our team,” said Hodžić with a smile on his face. “I think the team will be very good, and we will catch up well, and we will have to prove that on the court.”

Cedevita Olimpija is expected to play six preparation matches in August and September. On Saturday, August 28, they will face EWE Baskets Olderburg on Rogla, and on Monday, August 30, they will face Mitteldeutscher in Stožice. Both matches will be closed to the public. The trip to Croatia will follow, where Cedevita Olimpija will take part in an international tournament between 1 and 3 September, where the teams of Cibona, Partizan and Pesaro will also play. On Monday, September 6, one of the best eight teams of the elite Euroleague last season will play in Stožice, and the match will be open to the public and fans. On Friday, September 10, Zagreb’s Cibona will play in the preparatory match closed to the public in Stožice.