KK Krka

KK Krka
Leagues	UPC Telemach League Adriatic League
Founded	1948
Arena	Leon Štukelj Hall
Location	Novo mesto, Slovenia
Team colors	Green and White
President	Marjan Erpe
Head coach	Ivan Sunara
Championships	2 Slovenian League
Website	http://www.basket.krka.si/si/
Home Away

Krka Basketball Club (Slovene: Košarkarski klub Krka) is a basketball team from Novo Mesto, Slovenia. Fan club is call Kelti.

History

The first basketball club in Novo mesto was founded in 1948, but not until 1983, the year of its 35th anniversary, was the city able to celebrate the conquer of the Slovenian national championship. After that triumph, however, basketball saw a decline in Novo Mesto that lasted until after the separation of the Slovenian Republic from the former Yugoslavia. Soon the team was climbing through the second division to rejoin the Slovenian First League in 1997, when it also took the name of its sponsor, Krka. A fourth-place finish in the national league and third in the Slovenian Cup allowed the club to qualify for the Korać Cup for 1998/99. The big breakthrough came a year later, however, as Krka defeated historical rival Olimpija Ljubljana in the Slovenian playoff finals to win the national title. That year, the team also played the Saporta Cup and reached third place in the Slovenian Cup. In 2000/01, Krka consolidated its strength, but nonetheless fell to Olimpija in the finals. In 2001/02, Krka qualified for the Euroleague in a pre-season tournament and made its mark in a group of superpowers. Though Krka missed the Top 16, it was able to defeat all its opponents once, including names like Real Madrid, Panathinaikos, PBC CSKA Moscow and Skipper Bologna. At home, Krka finished second in the Goodyear league, in the Slovenian Championship and in the national cup, losing all three times to Olimpija Ljubljana. Last season changed that trend, however. Krka zoomed to the 2003 ULEB Cup double finals , narrowly losing to Pamesa Valencia despite being the only ULEB Cup team to win in Valencia. Krka then flexed its muscles, upsetting Olimpija for its second Slovenian crown. Novo Mesto will continue to battle without fear, making the continent's major powers take notice of its remarkable accomplishments

Current roster 2008-2009

Number	Player	Position	Height (m)
5		Maj Kovačevič	Guard	1.90
6		Stanko Sebič	Power Forward	2.04
7		Simon Petrov	Guard	1.89
9		Smiljan Pavič	Center	2.10
9		Jack Ingram	Power Forward	2.07
11		Davor Marcelić	Forward	2.00
12		Marko Rakočević	Forward/Center	2.05
13		Bojan Krivec	Guard	1.88
14		Nejc Koračin	Guard	1.90
15		Matej Župevec	Power Forward	2.04
16		Jure Balažič (C)	Power Forward	2.04
20		Ivan Tomas	Guard	1.82
21		Rene Žvan	Guard	1.82
23		Richard Essington Shields	Guard	1.90

Coach: Ivan Sunara

Notable successes

Slovenian champions of Slovenian First League in 1999/00 and 2002/03.

Notable players

Most notable players in the recent years were:

• Matjaž Smodiš
• Jaka Lakovič
• Sani Bečirovič
• Jaka Klobučar
• Dragiša Drobnjak
• Aleksandar Ćapin
• Jamie Arnold

Notable coaches

Most notable coaches in the recent years were: Neven Spahija and Petar Skansi.

External links

• Template:Sl icon Official site