Koà ¡arkaà ¡ki klub Zadar (), commonly referred to as KK Zadar or simply Zadar, is a men's professional basketball club based in Zadar, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Association, and competes in the ABA League and the Croatian League.
Zadar is the place where Croatian basketball was born in 1930. Zadar's reputation has been of a basketball hotbed with a team that can capture trophies at any given moment. Zadar is also known for its fanatical die hard supporters, Tornado Zadar.
The first basketball ball and game rules of basketball were brought to Zadar by Italian soldiers during World War II. At that time all basketball games being played in Zadar were played on an outdoor, concrete court. KK Zadar was formally founded after World War II in 1945 as FD Zadar (Fiskulturno Druà ¡tvo Zadar â Physical Culture Club of Zadar). Shortly after this club's founding, its basketball section went independent and became what is today's KK Zadar. Giuseppe "Pino" Giergia played his first game for Zadar in 1945; he later became one of the club's most famous players.
The 1949, KK Zadar entered Yugoslavia's first basketball division, remaining there until the country's break-up in 1990.
On November 28, 1964, Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiàplayed his first game for Zadar, while being only 16 years old.
In 1965 KK Zadar won a Yugoslav League national championship. They again became champions in 1967 and 1968. In that championship year, Kreso Cosic often knew to score even a 60 points per game. The club's new arena, Jazine, was built in 1968 in only 70 days. Also in 1966, Zadar played in the Euroleague final four; they were beaten in the semi-finals and ended the tournament in third place. In 1969 Kreà ¡o ÃÂosiàleft for the United States to play college basketball at Brigham Young University from 1971 to 1973.
In 1973, Zadar was almost relegated from the Yugoslav First Federal Basketball League. In this time of crisis, Kreà ¡o ÃÂosiàreturned to the club and with 36-year-old Giuseppe "Pino" Giergia Zadar once again became Yugoslav Champions, only to repeat this success two years later.
In 1976 Giuseppe Pino Giergia retired and Kreà ¡o ÃÂosiàleft the club to fulfill his obligations toward the Yugoslav Army (At this time, conscription was mandatory). During that time club was in a very difficult situation and once again were close to relegation. The club was once again saved by Kreà ¡o ÃÂosiàwho, after his military service, became the coach of Bresto in Italy. While he was the coach of Bresto he played basketball games for KK Zadar and once again saved the club from relegation.
In the 1981âÂÂ82 season another legendary Zadar play made his debut: Stojko VrankoviÃÂ. During that season club has made it to the semifinals of FIBA KoraàCup. They repeated this success the very next season. In 1986 another milestone for the club was achieved: the club got its first world record holder, Zdenko BabiÃÂ, who has scored 144 points against Apoel from Cyprus in the FIBA KoraàCup.
Arijan Komazec made his debut for Zadar in 1986, and he, along with Stojko VrankoviÃÂ, would play a crucial role in the years to follow. After 11 years of waiting, Zadar won its sixth national championship in 1986. In the finals of that year, KK Zadar met Cibona, and in a historic and legendary match, Zadar beat Cibona by 111:110. They won the game after two overtimes and thanks to an excellent performance by Petar Popoviàwho scored 35 points. In 1987 the club won fourth place in the FIBA European Champions Cup. In 1989 Kreà ¡o ÃÂosiàand Giuseppe "Pino" Giergia took charge of the club.
Kreà ¡o ÃÂosiàleft the club in August 1990 because of a disagreement with the club leadership. ÃÂosiàwould never return to the club, and was soon diagnosed with cancer. He died shortly after, in 1995. In the first, newly founded, Croatian national championship, in the 1991âÂÂ92 season, the club has played in the finals. That year club has also played in the Euroleague. They were the finalist of the national cup in the 1992âÂÂ93 season.
In years to come the club began to stagnate in the national championship and in the European competitions. In 1996 with a new coach at the helm, Danijel Jusup, Zadar reached the playoffs of the national championship, where they lost to Cibona. They repeated this success the following year with Emilio KovaÃÂiÃÂ as Zadar's key player, yet Cibona won the title once again.
In 1998 Zadar won the Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiàCup, Croatia's basketball cup competitions. Marko PopoviÃÂ, the son of Petar Popoviàmade his debut in 1998 for Zadar at age 16. In the summer of the 1999 Arijan Komazec returned to Zadar from Olympiacos, and the club had also signed Dino RaÃÂa from Panathinaikos. In the season 1999âÂÂ2000 Zadar had won its 2nd Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiàcup and had played, once again, in the semifinals of national championship and Saporta cup. Dino RaÃÂa and Arijan Komazec proved as crucial players for the success in that season.
In the seasons of 2000âÂÂ01, 2001âÂÂ02 Zadar played in the playoffs of national championship twice and once in Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiàCup, yet they did not win any of the possible three titles. In the season of 2002âÂÂ03 Danijel Jusup returned to the club as head coach. During that season, with Marko Popoviàas a lead player, Zadar won its third Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiàCup, as well as the newly established regional ABA League, founded on the ashes of the Yugoslav league and containing the best teams from the former Yugoslav republics. Zadar beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final.
In the summer of 2003, Marko Popoviàleft Zadar as Emilo KovaÃÂiàreturned. Going into the ULEB Cup for a third season in 2004âÂÂ05, Zadar once again missed the playoffs by a single win. In the season of 2004âÂÂ05 Zadar finally won the Croatian national championship, after a 19-year wait. That season Zadar has also won their fourth Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiàCup in a truly historical season. In 2006, they repeated their success from previous season in the Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiàCup winning their fifth cup. Zadar returned to the national league final in each of the last two seasons, but KK Cibona stood on its way to another league title.
In 2008, Zadar became the Croatian champion for the second time, beating KK Split 3âÂÂ2 in the best of five series. The final game of the series, which Zadar won 89 to 65, was the last game ever played at Jazine, affectionately called "The Temple of Croatian Basketball" by many fans and basketball aficionados.
Then after a long wait, season 2019/2020. Zadar won the Croatian Cup and was on its way to winning the Croatian Championship when the season was canceled due to COVID-19. The following year Zadar won yet another cup beating Split and finally won the championship again, again beating Split.
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