While the fans of Ljubljana’s main football team have recently celebrated their first title in two decades, the neighbouring Stožice Arena, the other part of the “Dragon” nest in addition to the stadium, has sunk deeper into agony, i.e. into a deep crisis of the former basketball institution. What used to be a parade horse of Slovenian basketball, a pride of Ljubljana and the entire country as well as a favourite club of many fans, is now merely a shadow of its old self. All that is left of the memory is the renowned and formerly famous name of Olimpija.

“We had a tough match, of the kind usually played in the playoffs. The boys fought as hard as they could and did their best. But the free and open shots showed that they were not relaxed. The pressure was probably too big, although we had been constantly emphasizing that Olimpija would be under pressure all the time. The Laško-based team was better and deserved to win,” Gašper Potočnik pointed out after the defeat against the team of Zlatorog, which also meant a goodbye for Olimpija in the semi-finals, since Laško’s team beat Olimpija 2-1 in the number of wins.

Olimpija’s Green Dragons fan group had announced a boycott until the change of the team’s managers. The press release stated: “We hope that our decision will lead to changes in the management and politics of the club. We want to bring into focus what is in the best interest of Olimpija, and not the protection of the club’s managers. We would like to bring in people who have a vision and an idea about how to get Olimpija back on the right track of success.”

What is the future of Olimpija?
There isn’t much hope for a sponsor, although this is what helped the capital make football a story of success. The future of basketball in Ljubljana seems pretty grim. The club also did not make it into the ABA League due to new rules and has sunk even deeper than before. If there is still some interest among foreign investors – with a few mentions of Austrian bankers, who are supposedly connected to prominent people in basketball – there may still be hope for a better tomorrow. And if a renowned name such as Zmago Sagadin returned to the club’s leading club functions along with these investors…

Tilen Jamnik, MMC; translated by K. Z.