ABA League


































































ABA League

ABA League.png
ABA League JTD logo

Founded 2001; 18 years ago (2001)
First season 2001–02
Country
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Croatia
 Macedonia
 Montenegro
 Serbia
 Slovenia
Confederation FIBA Europe
Number of teams 12
Level on pyramid 1

Relegation to
ABA League Second Division
Supercup ABA League Supercup
International cup(s)
EuroLeague
EuroCup
Champions League
FIBA Europe Cup
Current champions
Montenegro Budućnost
(1st title)
Most championships
Serbia Partizan
(6 titles)
TV partners Arena Sport
Website www.aba-liga.com

2018–19 season

The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, commonly known as the Adriatic League First Division, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia). Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as the Goodyear League from 2001 to 2006, and as the NLB League from 2006 to 2011.


The league coexists alongside scaled-down national leagues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. All but one of Adriatic League clubs join their country's own competitions in late spring after the Adriatic League regular season and post-season have been completed. In the past, the league has also consisted of clubs from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Israel that received wild card invitations.


The Adriatic League is a private venture, founded in 2001 and run until 2015 by the Sidro, a Slovenian limited liability company. Since 2015, the league has been operated by ABA League JTD, a Zagreb-based general partnership for organizing sports competitions. Adriatic Basketball Association is the body that organizes the league and is a full member of ULEB, as well as a voting member of Euroleague Basketball's board.


The formation of the Adriatic League has inspired similar regional leagues in Europe such as the Baltic Basketball League (est. 2004), Central European Basketball League (2008–2010), Balkan International Basketball League (est. 2008), and Alpe Adria Cup (est. 2015).




Contents






  • 1 History


    • 1.1 Debut season


    • 1.2 Second season


    • 1.3 All-time participants (2001–2018)




  • 2 Competition


    • 2.1 Competition system


    • 2.2 Current clubs (2018–19)




  • 3 Title holders


  • 4 Finals


  • 5 Titles by club


  • 6 Titles by country


  • 7 Individual awards


    • 7.1 Most Valuable Player


    • 7.2 Finals Most Valuable Player




  • 8 Adriatic League records


    • 8.1 Players


    • 8.2 Clubs


    • 8.3 All-time leaders




  • 9 Notable players


  • 10 See also


  • 11 Notes


  • 12 References


  • 13 External links





History


At various points throughout mid-to-late 1990s, in the years following the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia and ensuing Yugoslav Wars, different basketball administrators from the newly independent Balkan states floated and informally discussed the idea of re-assembling a joint basketball competition to fill the void left by the dissolution of the former Yugoslav Basketball League whose last season was 1991–92.[1]


However, no concrete action towards that end was taken before the summer 2000 ULEB-supported creation of Euroleague Basketball Company under the leadership of Jordi Bertomeu that immediately confronted FIBA Europe, then proceeded to take a handful of top European clubs into its new competition for the 2000–01 season thereby opening an organizational split in European club basketball. During the 2000–01 split in the continent's top club competition, local Balkan basketball administrators from the ULEB-affiliated clubs Cibona, Olimpija, and Budućnost (that already competed in this new 'breakaway' Euroleague competition) shifted the discussions of creating a regional Balkan-wide basketball league into higher gear.[citation needed]


On the public relations front, Adriatic League was met with strong and mixed reactions. Though many hailed it as an important step for the development of club basketball in the Balkans region, many others felt that it brings no new quality and that it's not worth dismantling three domestic leagues. There was a lot of negative reaction from political circles, especially in Croatia, with even TV panel discussions being broadcast on Croatian state television. A very vociferous opinion in the country saw the league's formation as a political attempt to reinstate Yugoslavia.[2] The league organizers for their part did their best to appease the Croatian public with statements such as the one delivered by Radovan Lorbek in Slobodna Dalmacija in September 2001:







Ten years later, in a 2011 interview for the Serbian newspaper Press, Roman Lisac explained the league's behind the scenes strategy during its nascent stages was actually quite different:







On 28 September 2001, the league announced a five-year sponsorship deal with Slovenian company Sava Tires from Kranj, a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The deal also included naming rights, hence from 2001 until 2006, the competition was known as the Goodyear League.



Debut season


With twelve clubs taking part in the inaugural 2001–02 season, the competition commenced in fall 2001 with four teams from Slovenia, four teams from Croatia, three teams from Bosnia-Herzegovina, and one team from FR Yugoslavia. The very first game was contested in Ljubljana between Olimpija and Široki on Saturday, 29 September 2001 at 5:30pm.[6]


Though the competition purported to gather the strongest sides from former Yugoslavia, as mentioned, teams from Serbia were noticeably absent, particularly Belgrade powerhouses and biggest regional crowd draws Partizan and Crvena zvezda. In addition to no clubs from Serbia proper, the league had no Serb-dominated clubs from Bosnia-Herzegovina either. Since the league founders mostly avoided talking about the issue due to fears of media backlash, the fact that no invitations were extended to Serbian clubs was generally explained through security issues due to organizers' fears of crowd trouble if Croatian and Serbian clubs were to start playing again in the same competition. Then in early February 2002, the public got a preview of just that when Cibona and Partizan met in Zagreb as part of that season's EuroLeague group stage. In a nationalistically charged and incident-filled encounter, Croatian fans peppered the Partizan players with rocks, flares, and even ceramic tiles before physically assaulting Partizan head coach Duško Vujošević in the guest team dressing room after the game.[6]


The Adriatic League debut season was marked by dwindling attendances and lukewarm media support. Still the league did receive a bit of a shot in the arm on 24 February 2002, when its managing body ABA got accepted as full member of ULEB.[7]



Second season


For the 2002–03 season, the league remained at the total number of 12 teams, while it went through major re-tooling internally. By the time season started, four teams dropped out (Sloboda Dita, Budućnost, Triglav, and Geoplin Slovan) to be replaced by: Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, Crvena zvezda (the first team from Serbia in the competition), the Bosnian outfit KK Borac, and Croatian club KK Zagreb.


It was important for the league's long term business to negotiate acceptable terms for the Serbian clubs to join the competition. To that end, Lorbek and Lisac went to Belgrade in early April 2002 with an offer of taking in three clubs from FR Yugoslavia for the Adriatic League's 2002–03 season.[8] The offer was flatly rejected initially by the representatives of five YUBA Liga clubs – Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Hemofarm, FMP, and Budućnost – as their unified platform was either all five or nothing. Taking in all five required expanding the league to 14 teams, which was something the league organizers weren't prepared to do due to the associated increase in operating costs. The negotiated agreement thus fell through for the time being. However, it didn't take long for dents to appear in the unified front put forth by five YUBA league clubs – in May 2002 Crvena zvezda's management (three businessmen close to the ruling Democratic Party in Serbia: Živorad Anđelković, Igor Žeželj, and Goran Vesić) hired Zmago Sagadin to be the club's new general manager – and soon after, in June 2002, the club broke the ranks by negotiating terms on its own thus agreeing to join the Adriatic League for the 2002–03 season.[8]



All-time participants (2001–2018)


The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Adriatic League at any time since its formation in 2001 (as Goodyear League) to the current season. A total of 37 teams from 10 countries have played in the Adriatic League.[citation needed]







































2D
Played in the Second Division
Defunct
Defunct teams
Restricted
Teams out of the Adriatic area
Suspended
Suspended teams
1st
Champions
2nd
Runners-up
SF
Semi-finalists

Bold
Teams playing in the 2018–19 ABA League First Division season
R Regular season champions
















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Team

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19
Total
seasons
Highest
finish


Bosnia and Herzegovina Borac Banja Luka
11th 13th 2
11th

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosna
12th 12th QF QF 10th 7th 13th 2D 7
Quarter-finals

Bosnia and Herzegovina Igokea
11th
SFR
6th 12th 9th 5th 10th TBD 8
Semi-finals

Bosnia and Herzegovina Sloboda Tuzla
5th Defunct 1
5th

Bosnia and Herzegovina Široki
6th 9th 12th 13th 11th 11th 12th 10th 9th 5th 10th 14th 12
5th

Bulgaria Levski Sofia
14th Restricted 1
14th

Croatia Cedevita
7th 7th 2nd 6th 2nd 2nd SF 2nd SF TBD 10
2nd

Croatia Cibona
SF 5th
2ndR
QF QF SF QF 2nd
2ndR
12th 7th 11th 1st 11th 8th 7th 11th TBD 18
1st

Croatia Split
8th 10th 9th 15th 14th 10th 10th 14th 2D 2D 8
8th

Croatia Šibenik
11th Defunct 1
11th

Croatia Triglav Osiguranje
10th Defunct 1
10th

Croatia Zadar
7th 1st 8th QF QF 7th SF 5th 8th 14th 12th 13th 8th 6th 12th 6th TBD 17
1st

Croatia Zagreb
6th 11th 12th 13th 12th 11th 13th 6th 5th 9th 10
5th

Czech Republic Nymburk
8th Restricted 1
8th

Hungary Szolnoki Olaj
13th 12th 7th Restricted 3
7th

Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
2nd
1stR
Restricted 2
1st

Republic of Macedonia Karpoš Sokoli
10th Sus.[a]
1
10th

Republic of Macedonia MZT Skopje
7th 9th 13th 10th 13th 12th 2D 6
7th

Montenegro Budućnost
9th 5th 14th 5th QF 6th 5th SF SF 5th 5th SF
SFR
SF 1st TBD 16
1st

Montenegro Lovćen
14th 2D 2D 1
14th

Montenegro Mornar
8th SF TBD 3
Semi-finals

Montenegro Sutjeska
13th 2D 1
13th

Serbia Crvena zvezda

SFR
SF SF SF 6th QF SF 9th 13th 10th 2nd
SFR

1stR
1st
1stR

2ndR
TBD 17
1st

Serbia FMP
1st SF 1st
2ndR
QF 8th 12th Defunct 7
1st

Serbia FMP Beograd
9th 8th TBD 3
8th

Serbia Mega
8th 10th 2nd 6th 9th TBD 6
2nd

Serbia Metalac Valjevo
6th 11th 2
6th

Serbia Partizan
2nd
2ndR
1st
1stR

1stR
1st
1stR
SF 1st SF SF 5th SF 5th TBD 15
1st

Serbia Radnički Kragujevac
11th 10th 8th SF 11th Defunct 5
Semi-finals

Serbia Vojvodina Srbijagas
QF 9th 14th Defunct 3
Quarter-finals

Serbia Vršac

1stR
SF SF 2nd SF SF 6th 12th 2D 2D 8
1st

Slovenia Helios Suns
16th 12th 8th 13th 12th 14th 13th 2D 7
8th

Slovenia Krka
2nd 7th 7th 11th SF 11th 9th 7th 9th 12th 14th 2D TBD 12
2nd

Slovenia Olimpija

1stR
SF SF QF 10th 9th SF 9th SF 2nd 6th 8th 10th 5th 7th 11th 7th TBD 18
1st

Slovenia Slovan
11th 10th 10th 9th 13th 14th 6
9th

Slovenia Tajfun
14th 1
14th

Slovenia Zlatorog Laško
SF 8th 6th 9th 14th 14th 6
Semi-finals


Competition



Competition system


As of the 2013–14 season the league comprises a 26-game regular season, with the top 4 sides making the play-offs.[9]


From 2002 through 2004, four teams qualified, and the playoffs were termed the "Final Four"; starting in 2005, eight teams advanced to the "Final Eight" round. All playoff rounds consist of one-off knockout matches, unusual among European leagues. However, since all Adriatic League clubs play in domestic leagues at the same time, and many also play in the EuroLeague, the current format has the virtue of limiting fixture congestion for the playoff sides.


In 2017, the ABA League Second Division was created. The last qualified team from ABA League would be relegated to the Second Division and replaced by the winner of this one.



Current clubs (2018–19)






















Crvena Zvezda

Mega Bemax

Cedevita

Igokea

FMP

Buducnost

Cibona

Krka

Partizan NIS

Mornar Bar

Zadar

Petrol Olimpija

Source[10]



Title holders












Finals

























































































































































Year

Final

Semifinalists
Champions
Score
Runners-up


2001–02
Details

Slovenia
Union Olimpija
73–59

Slovenia
Krka

Slovenia
Pivovarna Laško

Croatia
Cibona VIP
2002–03
Details

Croatia
Zadar
91–88

Israel
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv

Serbia and Montenegro
Crvena zvezda

Slovenia
Union Olimpija
2003–04
Details

Serbia and Montenegro
Reflex
71–70

Croatia
Cibona VIP

Serbia and Montenegro
Crvena zvezda

Slovenia
Union Olimpija
2004–05
Details

Serbia and Montenegro
Hemofarm
89–76

Serbia and Montenegro
Partizan Pivara MB

Serbia and Montenegro
Reflex

Serbia and Montenegro
Crvena zvezda
2005–06
Details

Serbia and Montenegro
FMP
73–72

Serbia and Montenegro
Partizan Pivara MB

Serbia and Montenegro
Crvena zvezda

Serbia and Montenegro
Hemofarm
2006–07
Details

Serbia
Partizan
2–0
playoffs

Serbia
FMP

Croatia
Cibona VIP

Serbia
Hemofarm
2007–08
Details

Serbia
Partizan Igokea
69–51

Serbia
Hemofarm

Slovenia
Union Olimpija

Croatia
Zadar
2008–09
Details

Serbia
Partizan Igokea
63–49

Croatia
Cibona VIP

Serbia
Crvena zvezda

Serbia
Hemofarm
2009–10
Details

Serbia
Partizan
75–74 (OT)

Croatia
Cibona VIP

Serbia
Hemofarm

Slovenia
Union Olimpija
2010–11
Details

Serbia
Partizan
77–74

Slovenia
Union Olimpija

Montenegro
Budućnost m:tel

Slovenia
Krka
2011–12
Details

Israel
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
87–77

Croatia
Cedevita

Montenegro
Budućnost VOLI

Serbia
Partizan mt:s
2012–13
Details

Serbia
Partizan mt:s
71–63

Serbia
Crvena zvezda Telekom

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Igokea

Serbia
Radnički Kragujevac
2013–14
Details

Croatia
Cibona
72–59

Croatia
Cedevita

Serbia
Crvena zvezda Telekom

Serbia
Partizan
2014–15
Details

Serbia
Crvena zvezda Telekom
3–1
playoffs

Croatia
Cedevita

Serbia
Partizan NIS

Montenegro
Budućnost VOLI
2015–16
Details

Serbia
Crvena zvezda Telekom
3–0
playoffs

Serbia
Mega Leks

Croatia
Cedevita

Montenegro
Budućnost VOLI
2016–17
Details

Serbia
Crvena zvezda mts
3–0
playoffs

Croatia
Cedevita

Montenegro
Budućnost VOLI

Serbia
Partizan NIS
2017–18
Details

Montenegro
Budućnost VOLI
3–1
playoffs

Serbia
Crvena zvezda mts

Croatia
Cedevita

Montenegro
Mornar


Titles by club






























































































Rank
Club
Titles
Runner-up
Champion Years
1.

Serbia Partizan

6

2

2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13
2.

Serbia Crvena zvezda

3

2

2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
3.

Serbia FMP

2

1

2003–04, 2005–06
4.

Croatia Cibona

1

3

2013–14
5.

Slovenia Olimpija

1

1

2001–02
6.

Serbia Vršac

1

1

2004–05
7.

Israel Maccabi

1

1

2011–12
8.

Croatia Zadar

1


2002–03
9.

Montenegro Budućnost

1


2017–18
10.

Croatia Cedevita


4

11.

Slovenia Krka


1

12.

Serbia Mega Basket


1



Titles by country







































Rank
Country
Titles
Runners-up
1.

Serbia Serbia

12

7
2.

Croatia Croatia

2

7
3.

Slovenia Slovenia

1

2
4.

Israel Israel

1

1
5.

Montenegro Montenegro

1

0


Individual awards
















Adriatic League records


Source:[11]



Players




  • Highest Index Ratings in a Game
    • 59 by Dejan Milojević, Budućnost vs Reflex on 3 January 2004



  • Most Points in a Game
    • 45 by Milan Gurović, Crvena Zvezda at FMP on 30 September 2006



  • Most Two Point Field Goals Made in a Game
    • 17 by Márton Báder, Szolnoki Olaj at Široki on 7 October 2012



  • Most Three Point Field Goals Made in a Game

    • 10 by Josip Sesar, Široki vs. Union Olimpija on 19 November 2005

    • 10 by Teemu Rannikko, Union Olimpija at Zagreb on 18 December 2005




  • Most Free Throws Made in a Game

    • 19 by Igor Rakočević, Crvena zvezda at Reflex on 16 April 2004

    • 19 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda at FMP on 30 September 2006

    • 19 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda vs. FMP on 16 December 2006

    • 19 by Damir Mulaomerović, Zagreb vs. FMP on 19 January 2010




  • Most Rebounds in a Game

    • 23 by Tommy Smith, Split vs. Reflex on 4 October 2003

    • 23 by Boris Savović, Hemofarm vs. Radnički Kragujevac on 22 October 2011




  • Most Assists in a Game
    • 18 by Marko Marinović, Radnički Kragujevac at MZT Skopje on 29 March 2014



  • Most Steals in a Game

    • 9 by Curtis McCants, Split vs. Zagreb on 16 December 2003

    • 9 by Andrés Rodríguez, Union Olimpija at Partizan on 7 November 2004

    • 9 by Jure Močnik, Helios at Split on 6 April 2005

    • 9 by Goran Jeretin, Crvena Zvezda at Partizan on 30 April 2005




  • Most Blocks in a Game

    • 7 by Smiljan Pavič, Union Olimpija vs. Bosna on 27 November 2004

    • 7 by Slavko Vraneš, Partizan at Cibona on 10 January 2010

    • 7 by Shawn James, Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Zlatorog Laško on 5 January 2012

    • 7 by Zoran Nikolić, Budućnost vs. Igokea on 15 October 2016




  • Most Turnovers in a Game

    • 11 by Jiří Welsch, Union Olimpija at Pivovarna Laško on 9 February 2002

    • 11 by Nikola Korać, Sutjeska at Mega Leks on 30 October 2015





Clubs




  • Longest winning streak
    • 20 games by Crvena zvezda for the 2014–15 and 2016–17 seasons.



  • Longest losing streak
    • 21 games by Levski Sofia for the 2014–15 season.



  • Biggest Winning Margin
    • 58 points by Cedevita playing vs Zadar for the 2016–17 season.



  • Most Won Games in a Season

    • Crvena zvezda won 25 out of 26 games for the 2016–17 season.



  • Most Lost Games in a Season

    • Bosna lost 21 out of 22 games for the 2002–03 season.



  • Most Points scored in a Season


    • Hemofarm scored 2591 points in 30 games for the 2004–05 season.


    • Crvena zvezda scored 2325 points in 26 games for the 2006–07 season.




  • Lowest Scored Points in a Season


    • Bosna scored 1443 points in 22 games for the 2001–02 season.


    • Zlatorog Laško scored 1688 points in 26 games for the 2011–12 season.





All-time leaders


From the 2001–02 to the 2018–19 season:








































Accumulated

Points

Croatia Siniša Štemberger
2,472

Rebounds

Republic of Macedonia Todor Gečevski
1,314

Assists

Slovenia Nebojša Joksimović [12]
831

Steals

Slovenia Nebojša Joksimović
355

Blocks

Serbia Slavko Vraneš
272

Index Ratings

Republic of Macedonia Todor Gečevski
3,212

Games Played

Croatia Marin Rozić [13]
348


Notable players


Well-known basketball players who have played in the Adriatic League include:[citation needed]













See also



  • List of current ABA Liga team rosters

  • European national basketball league rankings



Notes





  1. ^ Team is suspended until 2022.




References





  1. ^ Mitrović: Bogosavljev je dao ideju;Press, 11 July 2011


  2. ^ Jadranska liga ili samoubistvo pod obručima;NSPM, 31 December 2008


  3. ^ Deset godina NLB lige: Kako je Partizan gurnut u Jadran;Press, 15 July 2011


  4. ^ Jadranska liga donosi košarkašku REVOLUCIJU!;Slobodna Dalmacija, 28 Septembar 2001


  5. ^ Lisac: Jadranska liga bi propala bez Srba;Press, 23 July 2011


  6. ^ ab Deset godina NLB lige: Huligani odložili ulazak Partizana;Press, 12 July 2011


  7. ^ Deset godina Jadranske lige: Košarka nas je održala;Press, 10 July 2011


  8. ^ ab Deset godina NLB lige: Zvezdin izlazak na Jadran;Press, 13 July 2011


  9. ^ "ADRIATIC LEAGUE – Players showing off World Cup credentials". FIBA. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  10. ^ "ABA League Games / Schedule (2018-2019)". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 12 December 2018.


  11. ^ "ABA League – interesting facts and figures". abaliga.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.


  12. ^ https://twitter.com/ABA_League/status/1081513125508247552


  13. ^ https://twitter.com/ABA_League/status/1079394847583285248




External links







  • Official website

  • ABA League at Sportstats.com












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