Cedevita Olimpija starts mission 2022/23

Cedevita Olimpija squad has gathered for the first time this summer and began its training camp ahead of the 2022/23 season.

The senior team of Cedevita Olimpija has started its preparations for the new season at home in Stožice Arena on Monday. In the new season, the Ljubljana fans will be able to watch plenty of familiar faces within their team. From the previous season, several key players have remained in Stožice – Edo Murić, Zoran Dragić, Alen Omić, Yogi Ferrell and Marko Radovanović. Rok Radović, that used to play for Cedevita Junior, is coming back to the squad and both Žiga Daneu and Saša Ciani will start the training camp with the rest of the team. The newcomers are Marko Jeremić, Amar Alibegović, Josh Adams, Jan Kosi, Karlo Matković and Lovro Gnjidić. Blaž Habot has undergone the rehabilitation following the surgery.

The Dragons’ squad has not gathered in full strength immediately, since Edo Murić, Zoran Dragić, Karlo Matković and Lovro Gnjidić will join the squad later due to the national team obligations, while Yogi Ferell and Josh Adams will join their teammates a few days afterwards. Nil Jovanović and Lon Ličan, Vito Kučić and Josip Batinić will therefore practice with the squad from the start of the training camp.

“We are satistied with our team composition for the new season. We have managed to keep the core of the team from the previous season, only Jaka Blažič left. We have added some domestic players from the region to the core. They are young and talented players, eager of proving their quality and they used to play at the highest level before, so I believe that they will add some value to our team. A tough summer is behind us, but in the end, we are satisfied with the roster that we have on our disposal,” Sports Director Sani Bečirović told. Head coach Jurica Golemac added: “We got some rest and we cannot wait to start working again. We have composed a new team and we are slowly gathering. We are waiting for the national team players, for which we hope that they join as at latest possible, even though this is a problem for us, since we will be cheering for the national team altogether. Probably we will not play a single preseason game in full strength, so we will need to be patient, because we will need time to get into perfect shape.”

“I cannot wait for everything to begin. It was enough of rest. It’s time for us to get to work. I came home, to the most beautiful city and the most beautiful arena. We hope that we will achieve even better results than last season.  To do that we need to work and be focused. We need to create a good atmosphere on the team and listen to our head coach and follow his instructions,” Alen Omić told.

The Dragons have five preseason games scheduled so far. On 31 August they will meet German side Bonn, in the beginning of September, they will take part of the tournament in Sardinia, alongside Dinamo Sassari, AS Monaco and Hapoel Tewl Aviv. The Tournament will be opened on 3 September, when the Dragons will face the tournament hosts of Dinamo Sassari. On Saturday, 10 September, they will play against Igokea m:tel and on 19 September there will be a clash against Italian side Treviso.

The Dragons will enter the new season on Friday, 23 September, when they will meet Helios Suns in the Slovenian Super cup. In the regional competition, tey will face Borac of Čačak on the first weekend of October.

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Cedevita Olimpija začela misijo 2022/23

Ekipa Cedevite Olimpije se je v ponedeljek v Areni Stožice zbrala prvič v letošnjem poletju in v nekoliko okrnjeni zasedbi začela s pripravami na novo tekmovalno sezono 2022/23.

Člansko moštvo Cedevite Olimpije je v ponedeljek v svojem domicilu, ljubljanski Areni Stožice, začelo s pripravami na novo tekmovalno sezono. V novi sezoni bomo lahko v zeleno-oranžnem dresu spremljali številne znane obraze. V Ljubljani bodo še naprej igrali štirje nosilci igre iz minule sezone Edo Murić, Zoran Dragić, Alen Omić, Yogi Ferrell, od izkušenih igralcev pa bo del moštva tudi Marko Radovanović. V zasedbo se vrača Rok Radović, ki je bil v sezoni, ki je za nami, del zagrebške Cedevite Junior, priprave bosta z ekipo začela tudi Žiga Daneu in Saša Ciani. Novinci v moštvu so Marko Jeremić, Amar Alibegović, Josh Adams, Jan Kosi, Karlo Matković in Lovro Gnjidić. Blaž Habot je v začetku junija prestal operacijo poškodovanega kolena in bo nadaljeval z rehabilitacijo po operaciji.

Zasedba Zmajev se bo na uvodu v priprave zbrala v nekoliko okrnjeni zasedbi, saj se bodo Murić, Dragić, Matković in Gnjidić zaradi reprezentančnih aktivnosti pripravam pridružili nekoliko kasneje, zaradi osebnih razlogov pa bosta v Ljubljano nekaj dni po začetku priprav prišla še Ferrell in Adams. Moštvu Zmajev so se tako na uvodu v priprave priključili Nil Jovanovič in Lon Ličan, ki sta del ekip mlajših starostnih kategorij ljubljanskega kluba, ter Vito Kučić in Josip Batinić, sicer člana zagrebške Cedevite Junior.

“S sestavo moštva za novo sezono smo izredno zadovoljni. Uspeli smo zadržati jedro moštva iz minule sezone, odšel je le Jaka Blažič. Temu jedru smo dodali še domače igralce iz regije, ki jih mi smatramo kot svoje. So mladi, potentni igralci, željni dokazovanja, a so v minulih letih že igrali na najvišji ravni, tako da mislim, da bodo vsekakor predstavljali dodano vrednost. Za nami je naporno poletje, a smo izredno veseli in srečni z igralci, ki jih imamo na razpolago,” je ob začetku priprav povedal športni direktor ljubljanskega kolektiva, Sani Bečirović. Glavni trener Zmajev, Jurica Golemac, je dodal: “Spočili smo se in komaj čakamo, da ponovno pričnemo z delom. Sestavili smo novo moštvo in počasi se zbiramo. Čakamo še reprezentante, za katere upamo, da se nam pridružijo na treningih čim kasneje, četudi za nas to ne bi bilo idealno, saj stiskamo pesti za naše igralce. Verjetno ne bomo niti ene pripravljalne tekme odigrali v popolni postavi. Morali bomo biti potrpežljivi, saj smo za doseg vrhunske priprave potrebovali čas.”

“Komaj čakam, da se vse začne. Dovolj je bilo počitka. Čas je, da se lotimo dela. Vrnil sem se domov, v najlepše mesto in najlepšo dvorano. Vsi skupaj upamo, da bomo ustvarili še boljše rezultate kot v minuli sezoni,” je ob začetku priprav povedal Alen Omić. “Zdaj smo se zbrali in naša naloga je, da se dobro pripravimo na izzive pred nami, da dosežemo še boljše rezultate. Za to moramo delati in biti osredotočeni. Moramo vzpostaviti pravo vzdušje v moštvu in poslušati našega trenerja ter slediti njegovim navodilom.”

Zaenkrat je predvideno, da bodo košarkarji Cedevite Olimpije v pripravah na novo sezono odigrali pet pripravljalnih tekem. V sredo, 31. avgusta, se bodo v Ljubljani za zaprtimi vrati pomerili z nemškim Bonnom, v začetku septembra pa bodo sodelovali na mednarodnem turnirju na Sardiniji, na katerem bodo poleg Ljubljančanov nastopile tudi ekipe Dinamo Sassari, AS Monako in Hapoel Tel Aviv. Turnir bodo ljubljanski košarkarji odprli v soboto, 3. septembra, ko se bodo udarili z gostitelji turnirja, košarkarji Sassarija. V soboto, 10. septembra, se bodo izbranci glavnega trenerja Jurice Golemca za zaprtimi vrati stoženske dvorane pomerili z Igokeo m:tel, v ponedeljek, 19. septembra, pa bo sledil še prijateljski dvoboj z italijanskim Trevisom.

V novo sezono bodo aktualni slovenski državni, pokalni in superpokalni prvaki vstopili v petek, 23. septembra, ko bo v Škofji Loki najprej na vrsti obračun slovenskega Superpokala z domžalskimi Helios Suns. Na regionalni sceni se bo sezona začela prvi oktobrski konec tedna, ko v Ljubljano prihajajo košarkarji Borca iz Čačka, v 7DAYS EuroCupu pa bodo Zmaji na stoženski parket prvič stopili v sredo, 12. oktobra, ko v slovensko prestolnico prihaja turška ekipa Frutti Extra Bursaspor.