We open our regional season against Cibona at Tivoli on Saturday

Cedevita Olimpija will host Zagreb’s Cibona at Tivoli Hall on Saturday at 17:00. Following the postponement of the opening fixture against Krka, this Round 2 game in the first phase of the AdmiralBet ABA League will mark the Dragons’ first appearance in the regional competition in the 2026/27 season. It will also give Ljubljana fans their first opportunity to support the team at an official home game this season. Tickets are available at vstopnice.olimpija.com, and the game will be broadcast live on Arena Sport Slovenija 1.

Cedevita Olimpija’s new regional season begins with a meeting between two clubs whose encounters have helped shape basketball in the region for decades. Cibona visit Ljubljana on Saturday, with Tivoli Hall providing a special atmosphere for the rivalry between the Ljubljana and Zagreb teams.

For head coach Zvezdan Mitrović’s team, Saturday’s game forms part of a demanding start to the competitive season. On Wednesday, the Dragons opened their BKT EuroCup campaign away at Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos before returning to Ljubljana and turning their attention to the regional competition. Their first European home game follows on Tuesday, when Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem visit Stožice.

To avoid congestion in the public car parks around Tivoli Hall, we recommend that all visitors use public transport and set off at least 60 minutes earlier than usual. Your game ticket allows you to travel free of charge on Ljubljana city buses operated by LPP for three hours before the game and three hours after it ends.

Visitors arriving by car can park in either of the two car parks in Tivoli Park. Tivoli I can be accessed via the entrance and exit opposite the Union Brewery, by turning left from Celovška cesta. Turning right from Celovška cesta provides access to Tivoli II. Additional public parking spaces are available in the immediate vicinity of Tivoli Park.

Visitors attending Saturday’s game should be aware that traffic arrangements in Ljubljana will change due to the European Road Cycling Championships. Between 13:00 and 14:00, rolling road closures will be in place along the race route, which includes Bleiweisova cesta and Celovška cesta. Individual closures along the wider route are expected to last up to 30 minutes. We recommend planning your journey to Tivoli Hall in advance and checking the latest traffic information before setting off.

TICKETS:

Tickets are available at vstopnice.olimpija.com, Eventim Slovenija and all Petrol service stations across Slovenia.

The ticket office outside the arena and the arena doors will open at 16:00. The NLB “Fast Entrance” will once again be available, allowing visitors who present an NLB bank card to enter Tivoli Hall more quickly.

TV COVERAGE:

The Round 2 game in the first phase of the AdmiralBet ABA League against Zagreb’s Cibona will be broadcast live on Arena Sport Slovenija 1. Pre-game studio coverage will begin at 16:30.

GAME-DAY ACTIVITIES:

Season ticket collection

Season ticket holders can collect their tickets on game day between 16:00 and 18:00 outside the VIP entrance at Tivoli Hall’s east stand, next to the Eventim ticket office.

Activities at the game

Our partners will provide additional entertainment throughout the game. Fans can test their free-throw shooting in the SPAR Slovenija challenge, take part in Zavarovalnica Triglav’s “Three in a Row” game and put their accuracy to the test in Petrol’s ball-toss challenge by throwing balls into a barrel.

PRE-GAME QUOTES:

“Our first ABA League game is ahead of us, and we will face Cibona. We want to get our first win, but this will also be an opportunity to keep building our chemistry, as we have had very few practices together with this group and have played just one game. We will need more time for the players to get used to one another and for us to play the way we want to. Given the circumstances, we also have to build our chemistry through games, so alongside our desire to win, it will be important to take another step forward as a team,” Cedevita Olimpija head coach Zvezdan Mitrović said ahead of Saturday’s game against Cibona.

“I expect a good game. Cibona are a good team, and we already played them in the preseason. They have an experienced roster and some very good players. We are also looking for our first win, and this will be our first home game of the season, so we want to start on the right note. It will definitely be a battle. This will also be our first ABA League game, so we will do everything we can to get that first win,” Osayi Osifo said ahead of Saturday’s game. He also reflected on the EuroCup opener: “The game in Burgos was a good test. I think our team competed, but we are still getting used to one another. Injuries caused us some problems during the preseason, so we are now using official games to get to know each other better and figure out what kind of team we want to be. Burgos was a good test of our character. We need to show even more character and fight. If we do that and take care of our responsibilities on the court, I believe we can get a result we will be happy with as a team.”

GAME PREVIEW:

Led by head coach Ivan Rudež, Cibona arrive in Ljubljana with two wins from the opening two rounds of the Croatian championship. After an 84–78 road victory over Alkar in Sinj, the Zagreb side beat Zabok 100–84 in their first home game of the season on Wednesday.

Against Zabok, Cibona won the opening quarter 23–17 and extended their lead to 50–37 by halftime. They remained in control after the break to secure their second consecutive victory. Khalif Battle scored 21 points, Vincent Trevon Mitchell added 17, and Lovro Mazalin finished with 14 on perfect shooting from the field (7-for-7). Vigo Bart contributed ten points.

The victory in their first home game of the Croatian league season took Cibona to a 2–0 record. The reigning Croatian champions will compete on three fronts in 2026/27: alongside the SuperSport Premijer Liga and the AdmiralBet ABA League, they will return to the Basketball Champions League after a ten-year absence.

The Zagreb roster features several players with experience in the regional competition. Alongside Mazalin, these include Roko Badžim, Lovro Gnjidić, Domagoj Vuković and Antonio Sikirić, while Rickey McGill also plays an important role in the backcourt.

The teams have already met this season. In a preseason game at Stožice on 14 September, Cibona claimed a 72–71 victory in a tight finish. Badžim led the visitors with 15 points, followed by McGill with 12.

Cedevita Olimpija have won ten of the teams’ 12 meetings in the regional competition, including five of six on home court. Their most recent official encounters came in the 2024/25 season, when the Ljubljana side won 75–66 in Zagreb and 96–81 at home.

The Dragons return to their home court following Wednesday’s trip to Spain, where they lost 85–81 to Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos in their BKT EuroCup season opener. Cedevita Olimpija trailed by just one point at halftime (42–43), and the same margin separated the teams heading into the final quarter (59–60). The Dragons moved ahead 79–78 late in the game, but the hosts responded with five consecutive points to seal a narrow victory.

Rihards Lomažs led Cedevita Olimpija with 22 points, Matthew Hurt added 20, and Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 15. Following their European opener, head coach Zvezdan Mitrović’s team now have an opportunity to claim their first win of the new regional season in front of their home fans. On Tuesday at 18:30, they will then face Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem at Stožice in Round 2 of the BKT EuroCup.

ADMIRALBET ABA LEAGUE – GROUP A, ROUND 2 OF THE FIRST PHASE

Tivoli Hall (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Saturday, 3 October, at 17:00:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – CIBONA (buy tickets; live on Arena Sport Slovenija 1)

LOOKING AHEAD:

Saturday’s game will be the first of two consecutive home fixtures for Cedevita Olimpija’s senior team. On Tuesday at 18:30, the Dragons will host Hapoel Jerusalem at Stožice in Round 2 of the EuroCup regular season. Tickets are already available at vstopnice.olimpija.com. After facing Hapoel, the Dragons will play three consecutive road games against Široki, Riga and Igokea before returning home on 21 October, when they will welcome Le Mans to Stožice.