Umana Reyer is coming to Ljubljana in BKT EuroCup Round 2!

The players of Cedevita Olimpija will host Umana Reyer Venice in the second round of the BKT EuroCup regular season at Stožice Arena on Tuesday at 20:00. Pre-game activities will start at 18:00 with a Pre-Basket Party, and tickets for both events are available at vstopnice.olimpija.com!

Cedevita Olimpija will aim to get back on the winning track after Sunday’s loss to Dubai in the second round of the AdmiralBet ABA League. They will face Umana Reyer Venice in the second round of the BKT EuroCup regular season. The Dragons will take on the Venetians on Tuesday at 20:00 in Stožice, just 48 hours after their battle with the team from the United Arab Emirates. Both teams started their European season with a win in the first round: the Dragons on the road in Cluj-Napoca and the Lions at home against Aris.

TICKET PURCHASE:

Tickets for the game are available at vstopnice.olimpija.com, Eventim Slovenia, and the Petrol Ticket platform. You can also buy them at all Petrol gas stations across Slovenia.

The box office and arena doors will open at 19:00. The NLB ‘Fast Entrance’ will again be available, allowing faster access to Stožice for visitors who present an NLB bank card upon entry.

In line with the Green Five project, all fans are encouraged to walk, bike, scooter, or use public transport to attend the Sunday game. Anyone with a game ticket can ride the Ljubljana public transport buses for free three hours before and three hours after the game.

TV BROADCAST:

You can watch the live television broadcast of the game with Umana Reyer on Šport TV 1, with the studio segment starting at 19:15. The online stream of the game will be available on Euroleague TV.

FAN ZONE:

On Tuesday, starting from 18:00, we will enjoy a fantastic music program in front of Stožice Arena, where, before the start of the clash between Cedevita Olimpija and Umana Reyer in the EuroCup, there will be great music, company, food, and drinks!

The Aktual and Veseljak teams are preparing a special Pre-Basket Party featuring performances by Saša Lendero, SKaTER, the band Flirrt, Miran Rudan, and the current hottest star, Lima Len, who has won over the whole of Slovenia with his song “Brajde”! Of course, there will also be the signature Aktualovci buzz and Petkova pumpa, ensuring a real party atmosphere!

We’ve prepared a special deal just for you! By purchasing only one ticket, you can attend both the basketball game and the Pre-Basket Party! So, get your ticket for a night of entertainment and sports that you’ll remember for a long time!

For all attendees of the Pre-Basket Party, we’ve organized a special offer in cooperation with our sponsors. All food and drinks will be available at a promotional price of 2.5 EUR, meaning you can enjoy good music, great company, and affordable food and drinks!

The doors of Stožice will open at 19:00 on Sunday. In the fan zone, you can find Cedevita Olimpija’s basketball hoop, coloring books, and face painting for the youngest fans. Also present will be NK Olimpija, where you can take part in goal-shooting activities and purchase official merchandise, and HK Olimpija, where you can test your hockey skills. Renault Slovenia will entertain children with pedal cars, and they can also race on a mini electric car track. You can also test your basketball skills in the Grosbasket activity, and Woop will host a special Cornhole game!

During a timeout in the second quarter, we will give away two season tickets for all of the Dragons’ home games this season. Zavarovalnica Triglav and Heka Supplements will host giveaways, and during halftime, there will be a concert as the Pre-Basket Party moves inside to the Stožice court for a few moments.

The 6th Dragon corner will also be active, and through the mobile app, which you can download today, you can help shape the club’s image and participate in an exciting giveaway.

We encourage all fans to bring their scarves in Dragons’ colors! At the start of the game, let’s all raise our scarves together, sing “On Top of the Skyscraper,” and ensure the largest sports arena in Slovenia is dressed in Cedevita Olimpija’s colors!

PRE-GAME STATEMENTS:

“There’s little time to prepare for Tuesday’s game, and as I mentioned at Sunday’s press conference, we are more focused on correcting our mistakes than on the quality of Umana Reyer. Venice is a very good team with talented players, a serious budget, and an excellent coach. They were favorites in Sunday’s game in the Italian league but lost, so I believe they’ll be highly motivated in Ljubljana on Tuesday. They are an athletic team with strong rebounding and a great transition game. In their first game against Aris and the Supercup game against Milan, they delivered two solid performances. We’ll try to wake up our team, focus on ourselves, and address our fundamental mistakes. We have little time, so on Monday we talked a lot and had a recovery training session, but we’ll provide the team with information as needed. On the court, we need to show energy and desire, and I hope the players will absorb all our information and step onto the floor fresh and energized, as we’ll need that most if we want to win,” said the Dragons’ head coach, Zvezdan Mitrović, ahead of Tuesday’s game at Stožice.

“We have another physical game ahead of us. Umana Reyer has many quality players. We must be ready, refresh our bodies and minds. We need to be ready to absorb the information from the coaches and apply it on the court,” said Martinas Geben before the game. “The first European game of the season against Cluj proved that we can compete with good teams. We need to build on that. At the same time, we must learn from the losses in games that didn’t go our way but not dwell on them too much, as new challenges are coming quickly, and we need to focus on them.”

GAME PREVIEW:

Cedevita Olimpija made 14 three-pointers, including two in the final minute, and won its first regular season game in Cluj, beating U-BT Cluj-Napoca 93:86 to successfully start their BKT EuroCup campaign in Group B.

Cedevita Olimpija overcame a 12-point streak by the home team in the fourth quarter, responding with a 9-2 run after trailing 71:78, then scoring the last eight points of the game to secure the win. Five Ljubljana players scored in double digits. Devin Robinson had 20 points, Brynton Lemar added 18, DeVante’ Jones contributed 15 points, seven assists, and four steals, Aleksej Nikolić added 14 points, and DJ Stewart scored 13 points. The Dragons opened their European Cup season with a win for the first time since the 2021/22 season.

Unfortunately, the Dragons couldn’t carry their European success into the regional league, where they are winless after two games. In the first round, FMP Soccerbet defeated Cedevita Olimpija in Železnik, and on Sunday, Ljubljana lost 84:92 to Dubai on their home court at Stožice. Dubai started strong, quickly building a large lead, and the Dragons’ comeback attempt fell short, as the visitors secured a comfortable win. DJ Stewart led the Ljubljana team with 15 points. Devin Robinson added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Aleksej Nikolić and Martinas Geben each contributed 11 points.

Umana Reyer started their BKT EuroCup season strong with a 95:75 win over Aris at Palasport Taliercio last week. Jordan Parks led the winners with 17 points. Mfioundu Kabengele and Aamir Simms each added 13, Tyler Ennis contributed 12 points, six rebounds, and eight assists, Amedeo Tessitori scored 11 points, and Xavier Munford and Carl Wheatle each added 10 points for Reyer. At halftime, the scoreboard read 47:41 for the home team, and they pulled away in the third quarter with a 14-point streak, taking a 65:46 lead. When the score was 79:62 in the fourth quarter, the game was decided.

The Italian team, coached by Neven Spahija, had a less successful start to the Italian league season, losing narrowly to Treviso 75:78 at home on Sunday. Mfiondu Kabengele added 21 rebounds to his 17 points, while other double-digit scorers were Kyle Wiltjer (14), Davide Moretti (11), and Tyler Ennis (10).

BKT EUROCUP, REGULAR SEASON ROUND 2

Stožice Arena (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Tuesday, October 1, 20:00:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – UMANA REYER (TV broadcast on Šport TV 1)

LOOKING AHEAD:

After the game with Umana Reyer, the senior team will travel to Bar, where they will face Mornar-Barsko zlato on Saturday, followed by a trip to Turkey, where they will play Turk Telekom on October 8. After two consecutive road games, the Dragons will return to their home court on October 12 to host Split in Tivoli at 16:00.