Cibona Zagreb 2008-09, team profile
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Cibona, the traditional giant of Croatian basketball, has high a standard of success. That's natural when your home court, the Drazen Petrovic Basketball Center, is named for a legend who was not only one of the best ever to wear a Cibona jersey, but one of the best players anywhere in the world to ever put on a jersey! Some two decades have passed since the Petrovic brothers led Cibona through its golden period, however the club remains a force to be reckoned with at the highest European level. Since its first trophy, the 1969 Yugoslavian Cup, Cibona has been in the hunt for glory in every league it has played. Cibona won a Korac Cup title in 1972, added a Cup Winners' Cup trophy in 1982, as well as three Yugoslavian championships and five Yugoslavian Cup titles between 1980 and 1985. Few teams anywhere can match the success that Cibona had with the late Drazen Petrovic, backed by his brother Aleksandar and players like Mihovil Nakic, Zoran Cutura, Franjo Arapovic and Danko Cvjeticanin. Drazen Petrovic scored 26 of his 36 points in the second half of the 1985 Euroleague final as Cibona downed Real Madrid 87-78 to claim its first top continental title. The Petrovic brothers then led the team to a second Euroleague title in 1986, beating Zalgiris 94-82 in an unforgettable title game.
2007-08 RESULTS | Euroleague | | Adriatic League | R. Season | 15-11 | Playoffs | Quarters |
| Croatian League | R. Season | 10-4 | Playoffs | Semis | Cup | Finalist |
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| Cibona added a second Cup Winners' Cup title in 1987 against Scavolini Pesaro and reached the Korac Cup final in 1988 before Drazen Petrovic left the team for good. With the opening of the Croatian League in the 1990s, Cibona built a dynasty with 11 consecutive national titles and five Croatian Cups through 2002. Since then, Cibona has established itself as a regular participant in the Euroleague Top 16, often bringing plenty of drama to the final games of the regular season. The past two seasons have seen near-misses in qualifying for the Top 16, but both times Cibona entered the last game of the regular season with hopes of advancing. Last season the club also hit hard times at home as Cibona lost the Croatian Cup final and failed to make the Croatian League finals for the first time in over a decade. But with the top talents in Croatia always aiming to add their names to a list that includes success stories like Slaven Rimac, Davor Marcelic, Gordan Giricek, Niksa Prkacin or most recently, Davor Kus, Zoran Planinic, Marko Popovic and Damir Markota, a return to glory is never far away.
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Euroleague.net
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