Žiga Daneu on adaptability, challenges, and the desire for a full Stožice

Upon extending his contract with Cedevita Olimpija, we invited Žiga Daneu for a quick chat. Last summer, upon his return to the Dragon family, Žiga was our first guest in interviews, and we’re kicking off the summer months once again with a conversation with a child of our club.

Žiga expressed happiness and satisfaction with the contract extension with the Ljubljana club.

“I’m looking forward to the next season, as our shared goal is definitely to show even more passion and achieve greater success. I also hope that fans will come to Stožice with joy, just as they did in the second half of the past season.”

Žiga grew up playing basketball at the Ljubljana club, later developing at the senior level with Ilirija and Helios. Before that, he had already earned opportunities to play in Slovenia’s First League (1. SKL) and one EuroCup game in the 2021/22 season with Cedevita Olimpija. In the past season, his minutes on the court increased significantly, bringing valuable experience.

“In the upcoming season, I want to make the most of the experience I gained last season. I’m especially thinking about moments when I step onto the court, and the game moves very fast. I need to adapt to the rhythm of the game more quickly. I also need to better manage the pace of training sessions and understand how a season works. I didn’t expect it would be so demanding, so I need to work on that.”

Greater expectations are placed on Daneu for the upcoming season compared to the start of the 2024/25 season. Žiga is aware of this but doesn’t want to put too much pressure on himself.

“I’m preparing for the new season with a mentality of not creating excessive pressure on myself. Last season, I proved to myself that I’m capable of playing at a higher level, so I believe the next season will be much easier for me.”

As a positive aspect of the past season, Žiga highlighted his adaptability while also mentioning a weakness he noticed in himself.

“All sports, despite having certain systems, unfold quite unpredictably. I must say that adapting to unexpected situations comes quite naturally to me, which I consider one of the better aspects of last season. As for a weakness, I’d point out my lack of focus – at times, my thoughts wandered in all directions, which caused a lack of concentration and strongly impacted my performance.”

Before the start of the summer and the upcoming competitive season, Žiga also has a promise for all Cedevita Olimpija fans.

“Before the start of the last season, I promised fans that we would play better than the season before and that they’d come to games with pleasure. I’m glad that this came true and that Stožice filled up for some matches. My goal is to have even more such games and fans in the stands.”