Preseason begins for Cedevita Olimpija

Following the summer break, Cedevita Olimpija’s senior team is back together. The Dragons gathered at Stožice on Monday with a somewhat changed roster, officially beginning their preparation period ahead of the new season, in which they will compete in the AdmiralBet ABA League, BKT EuroCup and competitions under the auspices of the Basketball Federation of Slovenia. Last week, the players underwent initial testing and medical examinations while also following individual training programmes. On Saturday morning, as part of a team-building activity, they also went for a short walk to Rožnik and through Tivoli Park. Group practices now begin, with the intensity of preparations set to gradually increase.

Due to national team commitments, the squad is currently still incomplete, while roster construction ahead of the 2026/27 competitive season has also not yet been finalized. Rok Radović, Miha Cerkvenik and David Škara are not yet with the Dragons, as they are preparing or playing with their respective national teams during the qualification window for the 2027 World Cup. Head coach Zvezdan Mitrović is also absent from the opening part of preparations due to national team commitments. In his absence, practices will be led by assistant coaches Đorđe Adžić and Dalibor Damjanović, with Grega Nachbar and Miljan Goljović assisting them on the court. Alongside the coaches responsible for physical preparation, several coaches from the club’s youth teams will also be present.

Among the players who already wore the Dragons’ jersey last season, Jaka Blažič, Cameron Houindo and Derin Can Ustun were present at Stožice on Monday. In addition to the players away on national team duty, Matthew Hurt and Maks Ciperle were also absent and will join the team on Tuesday. Newcomers Brandon Murray, Anthony Cowan Jr., Jordan Gainey, Noah Kirkwood and Jayce Johnson arrived in Ljubljana last week and were already on the Stožice court on Monday. A number of young players who are part of Cedevita Olimpija’s system also took part in the opening team practice at Stožice: Uroš Stjepanović, Bine Pregl, Djibril Samba Gueye, Mark Hukić, Dan Matondo Lukanu and Jaka Jagodnik. Roman Kolka will also join the team in the coming days.

“The primary task for the entire coaching staff is to prepare the team as well as possible for the arrival of head coach Zvezdan Mitrović once he completes his national team commitments. At that point, we will be able to start working more seriously on basketball and tactical matters,” assistant coach Đorđe Adžić said ahead of the first practice. “Our primary goal is therefore to make sure the players are as well prepared as possible, especially physically, but also from a basketball standpoint, so that we can begin working more specifically once Zvezdan joins the team and the remaining players have also completed their national team commitments.”

“As before every season, we are all excited about the start. We had a nice summer, and now we are ready to work and prepare well for the new season. Right now, it is important for us to get to know each other, and I have to be one of the links that brings everyone together and helps create that chemistry. We constantly emphasize chemistry, but it really is important to create a healthy environment where everyone feels comfortable,” Jaka Blažič said at the start of group practices. “We have a coach who leaves very little to chance when it comes to roles on the court. So my work is more off the court, trying to establish that chemistry I mentioned and build good, healthy relationships that we then maintain throughout the entire season. As long as I enjoy coming to practice and can still run around with these young guys, I’ll keep playing. So we’ll take it practice by practice, season by season, and see where it takes us.”

The Dragons face an intensive preparation period in the coming weeks, during which they will play six preseason games. These games will give the coaching staff an opportunity to build team chemistry, integrate the new faces into the Dragons’ family and prepare for the start of the competitive season.

The Dragons’ first preseason game is scheduled for August 27, when they will face ECE Triglav Kranj in Ljubljana. Three days later, on August 30, they will host Austrian side Kapfenberg in the Slovenian capital. The team will then relocate to Kranjska Gora for a week, where two preseason games await them – against Laško on September 4 and Montenegro’s Budućnost VOLI two days later. Their first road game of the preseason will take place on September 10 in Udine, where the Ljubljana side will face the home team Udine. After returning to Ljubljana, they will play Cibona at Stožice on September 14. The Dragons will conclude their preparations in Italy on September 20 with a game against Trieste.

Cedevita Olimpija’s first official game of the 2026/27 season will take place on September 17, when the Dragons face Krka in Nova Gorica in the 2026 Slovenian Super Cup.

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Cedevita Olimpija v Stožicah začela priprave na novo sezono

Po poletnem premoru se je članska zasedba Cedevite Olimpije zbrala v Stožicah in začela priprave na sezono 2026/27. Zmaji so v minulem tednu opravili uvodna testiranja in zdravstvene preglede ter trenirali individualno, od ponedeljka naprej pa se začenja tudi skupinsko delo na parketu.

Po poletnem premoru je članska ekipa Cedevite Olimpije znova skupaj. Zmaji so se v ponedeljek v nekoliko spremenjeni zasedbi zbrali v Stožicah in s tem tudi uradno začeli pripravljalno obdobje pred novo sezono, v kateri bodo nastopali v AdmiralBet Ligi ABA, BKT EuroCupu in tekmovanjih pod okriljem Košarkarske zveze Slovenije. Igralci so v minulem tednu opravili uvodna testiranja in zdravstvene preglede, ob tem pa trenirali po individualnem programu ter se v soboto dopoldan v okviru ekipnega druženja odpravili tudi na krajši sprehod na Rožnik in po parku Tivoli. Zdaj sledi začetek skupinskih treningov in postopno stopnjevanje intenzivnosti priprav.

Zaradi reprezentančnih obveznosti je ekipa trenutno še v okrnjeni zasedbi, tudi kadrovanje pred začetkom tekmovalne sezone 2026/27 pa še ni zaključeno. Z Zmaji tako še niso Rok Radović, Miha Cerkvenik in David Škara, ki se pripravljajo oziroma nastopajo s svojimi reprezentancami v okviru kvalifikacijskega okna za svetovno prvenstvo 2027. Prav tako zaradi reprezentančnih obveznosti v uvodnem delu priprav manjka glavni trener Zvezdan Mitrović. V njegovi odsotnosti bosta treninge vodila pomočnika glavnega trenerja Đorđe Adžić in Dalibor Damjanović, na parketu jima bosta pomagala še Grega Nachbar in Miljan Goljović, ob trenerjih, ki skrbijo za fizično pripravo, pa bodo prisotni tudi nekateri trenerji ekip mlajših starostnih kategorij.

V ponedeljek so bili v Stožicah od igralcev, ki so v minuli sezoni že nosili dres Zmajev, prisotni Jaka Blažič, Cameron Houindo, Derin Can Ustun. Od znanih obrazov sta poleg igralcev, ki so na reprezentančnih akcijah, manjkala še Matthew Hurt in Maks Ciperle, ki se bosta ekipi pridružila v torek. Novinci Brandon Murray, Anthony Cowan ml., Jordan Gainey, Noah Kirkwood in Jayce Johnson so v Ljubljano prispeli v minulem tednu in so v ponedeljek tudi že stopili na stoženski parket. Na uvodnem ekipnem treningu v Stožicah so bili prisotni tudi številni mladi košarkarji, ki so del ekip ustroja Cedevite Olimpije - Uroš Stjepanović, Bine Pregl, Djibril Samba Gueye, Mark Hukić, Dan Matondo Lukanu in Jaka Jagodnik. V prihodnjih dneh se bo moštvu pridružil še Roman Kolka.

"Predvsem je primarna naloga celotnega trenerskega štaba, da ekipo čim bolje pripravimo na prihod glavnega trenerja Zvezdana Mitrovića, ko bo zaključil svoje reprezentančne obveznosti. Takrat se bomo lahko resneje lotili košarkarskih in taktičnih stvari," je pred prvim treningom povedal pomočnik trenerja Đorđe Adžić. "Naš primarni cilj je torej, da so igralci čim bolje pripravljeni, predvsem fizično, pa tudi košarkarsko, da bomo lahko začeli delati bolj konkretno, ko se Zvezdan pridruži ekipi in ko bodo zaključene tudi reprezentančne obveznosti preostalih igralcev."

"Tako kot vsako sezono smo vsi vznemirjeni pred začetkom. Imeli smo lepo poletje, zdaj pa smo pripravljeni na delo in na to, da se dobro pripravimo na novo sezono. Zdaj je dobro, da se spoznamo, in jaz moram biti en člen med vsemi, da se povežemo, da se ustvari ta kemija. Vseskozi poudarjamo to kemijo, ampak je res pomembna, da se naredi neka zdrava sredina, kjer se vsak dobro počuti," je ob začetku skupinskih treningov povedal Jaka Blažič. "Imamo takega trenerja, ki ne prepušča veliko naključij, kar se tiče samih vlog na terenu. Tako da je moje delo bolj izven terena, da nekako vzpostavimo to, tako kot sem že omenil, kemijo in neke dobre, zdrave odnose, ki jih potem spoštujemo skozi celotno sezono. Dokler bom z veseljem hodil na treninge in dokler se bom lahko za temi mladci podil, bom igral. Tako da gremo trening po trening, sezono po sezono, pa bomo videli, kje se bo končalo."

V prihodnjih tednih čaka Zmaje intenzivno pripravljalno obdobje, v sklopu katerega bodo odigrali šest pripravljalnih tekem. Te bodo strokovnemu štabu ponudile priložnost za uigravanje ekipe, vključevanje novih obrazov v Zmajevo družino ter pripravo na začetek tekmovalne sezone.

Prvi pripravljalni obračun Zmaje čaka 27. avgusta, ko se bodo v Ljubljani pomerili z ECE Triglavom Kranj. Tri dni pozneje, 30. avgusta, bodo v slovenski prestolnici gostili še avstrijski Kapfenberg. Nato se bo ekipa za teden dni preselila v Kranjsko Goro, kjer jo čakata dve pripravljalni srečanji – 4. septembra ji bo nasproti stal Laško, dva dni kasneje pa še črnogorska Budućnost VOLI. Prvo gostovanje v sklopu priprav bo na sporedu 10. septembra v Udinah, kjer se bodo Ljubljančani pomerili z domačo ekipo Udine. Po vrnitvi v Ljubljano bo sledil obračun v Stožicah, kjer bo 14. septembra nasprotnik Cibona. Priprave bodo Zmaji zaključili 20. septembra v Italiji, kjer jih čaka še tekma proti Triesteju.

Prva uradna tekma Cedevite Olimpije v sezoni 2026/27 bo na sporedu 17. septembra, ko se bodo Zmaji v Novi Gorici v slovenskem Superpokalu 2026 pomerili s Krko.