In loving memory of Mirko Novosel
Today is the day, when we would normally celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest people from the World of basketball, coming from our region. Mirko Novosel, that has passed away last year, would have turned 87 years of age.
One of the greatest names in the entire history of the regional basketball, Mirko Novosel, would have celebrated his 87th birthday today and this gives us the opportunity to remember his greatness and the achievements from the basketball courts.
Former player, legendary coach and a father of former ABA League j.t.d. director Krešimir Novosel, Mirko Novosel used to play for Lokomotiva Zagreb for 14 seasons as a player, the club that later became known as Cibona.
However, his moments of true glitter came later, when he decided to take over the Cibona team as head coach. Led by Mirko Novosel, Cibona has become one of the best clubs on the continent at that time, having won 2 European Champions Cup trophies, 2 FIBA Cup Winners’ Cup trophies, 2 Yugoslav National Championship trophies, and as many as 7 Yugoslav National Cup winner titles.
Novosel has also proven himself on the international stage, having led Yugoslavia National team to two EuroBasket gold medals (1973 and 1975), a silver medal at the 1974 FIBA World Cup, and a silver (1976) and bronze medals (1984) at the Olympic Games. He also led the Croatia National team to the bronze medal at the 1994 EuroBasket tournament.
He has also been named the European Coach of the Year in 1985 and was inducted into both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and FIBA Hall of Fame.
One thing is certain – his contribution to the glory of our regional basketball will never be forgotten.
