Split’s basketball team play their first European match in the group stage of one of the European competitions in 22 years today. The match is the first round of group A of the FIBA Europe Cup, with Železara the guests in Opava. The match starts at 18:00.
It has long seemed that the match in Croatia could only be followed in a broadcast on the league’s YouTube channel. Today, at the last moment, a live broadcast was secured on a commercial channel by the club, with the help of MaxSport, HRT and the Czech club. The broadcast of Opava and Split can be followed on the MaxSport 1 channel, and all of the club’s matches this season, home and away, can be watched on MaxSport.
Split last played in the league phase in Europe in the 2003/04 season, as participants in the then ULEB Cup. The last European excursion was in September 2021. The team, coached by Damir Rančić, is placed in group A, where alongside Opava and Split are Georgian Batumi 2010, Kosovan Trepča, Greek Promitheas Patras and German VET-CONCEPT Gladiators Trier.
A total of 48 clubs are participating in the competition, divided into eight groups of six teams. The two best teams from each group will advance to the second phase of the group stage, while the rest will be eliminated. The teams will then be divided into four groups of four, with the two best teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals. Split are participants in the European competition after falling out of the regional Adriatic League A last season, with the club’s management estimating that there was no point in playing in the second tier of the regional competition. The club are guaranteed at least ten matches, with the first phase of the group stage ending on 23 December.
Sambo had also tried to qualify for the competition, but were defeated by Slovakian Prešpor in both matches, finishing 53 points behind. The team, which has undergone a complete overhaul over the summer, has justified its status as favourites in the first two rounds of the domestic SuperLiga. After winning the first round against Dubrovnik at the Gospino Polje, on Friday they faced Kvarner 2010 at home. The team was joined on Monday by the American point guard Nick Johnson, who arrived at the club after the birth of his child and is immediately going on the road with the team.
Coach Rančić said: 'We want to present ourselves well after a long absence from Europe. Opava is a small basketball town, but they are champions of the Czech Republic. They are unorthodox, playing differently to what is played in our region, quickly, attractively, with a large number of possessions.' Rančić, who was part of the Split team that played in the last European competition 22 years ago, added: 'It will be a very challenging match, we expect a tough game. Opava is a small town, but they are like Zadar. The arena is full, the whole city is living for basketball. Thanks to the fact that we have Johnson, we will see if we can bring him up to the top, but it is not that important. All the players are healthy and fit, the atmosphere is good and we are looking forward to the match.'
