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 Already in the midst of its best European season in many years, KK Zadar will land at the Final Eight in Turin looking to make 2009 downright unforgettable for its passionate fans. The reigning Croatian champions seem to have gotten stronger as the season progressed, winning three in a row during a key stretch of the Last 16 to book their Final Eight berth. Zadar's accomplishment came despite a pair of midseason coaching changes that resulted in legend Zmago Sagadin taking over the bench during the Last 16. Zadar showed tremendous offensive potential all season and topped the 90-point mark three times to finish as the competition's highest-scoring team. The addition of Desmon Farmer during the Last 16 to steady young playmaker Rok Stipcevic gives Zadar an electric backcourt, while veteran Todor Gevevski leads the interior attack. Having the likes of defensive ace Juby Johnson, three-point marksman Damir Rancic and do-it-all forward Hrvoje Peric gives Sagadin plenty options to work with as Zadar looks to improve on last year's magical campaign, which saw the club win the Croatian championship, reach the Adriatic League semifinals and come within a victory of the ULEB Cup Final Eight. On-court success is never a surprise in Zadar, where Croatian basketball was born in 1930. The club was constituted in 1945, but its most successful era was the decade between 1965 and 1975, when Zadar won five Yugoslav League titles behind one of Europe’s greatest players ever, Kresimir Cosic. Zadar would add a sixth domestic crown in 1986 with Ivan Sunara and Stojan Vrankovic. There was success on the continental stage, too, as Zadar took third place in Europe in 1968 and reached the Korac Cup semifinals in 1982 and 1986. Zadar became a fixture in the relaunched Croatian League in the 1990s, but could only outlast rival Cibona for two trophies, the 1998 and 2000 national cups. The 2002-03 season was an amazing campaign for Zadar thanks to two more trophies: the Adriatic League and the Croatian Cup, named after Cosic. In 2003-04, Zadar pushed into both Croatian finals, losing a cup thriller against Split and falling to Cibona 3-1 in the playoffs. After reaching the ULEB Cup quarterfinals in its debut, 2003-04 season, Zadar missed advancing the next two years, one time by a single victory, the other by a single basket! Zadar took its revenge at home, however, winning another Cosic Cup before finally putting its hands around the Croatian League titles it had sought for so long. Liking the taste of triumph, Zadar returned to the Croatian League final in each of the last three seasons, and registered its second national championship crown in 2008. There is no doubt that a new golden era for Zadar basketball has been underway for awhile. Now, the club's next target very clear: to seize its first European trophy at the Final Eight in Turin!
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Eurocupbasketball.com
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