Cibona’s juniors have the chance to surpass last year’s achievement

Alongside KK Cibona, who finished third last year, the participating teams are KK Cedevita Junior, KK Kvarner and defending champions KK Zadar.

The tournament begins with the semifinals, while the following day will feature the third-place game, the final, and the medal ceremony.

Cibona will face Kvarner in the semifinal, and the matchup was previewed by head coach Edi Rački.

“In the semifinal we face Kvarner. We have maximum respect for them because they played an excellent semifinal tournament in Split, where they overturned a 15-point deficit against the hosts in the decisive game and deservedly secured their place at the Final Four. We watched all of their games from the semifinal stage and prepared thoroughly for them. I expect a good game, but I believe in our quality and strength and that we can achieve victory and secure a place in the final”.

The other semifinal pairing is Zadar vs. Cedevita Junior, and Rački added:

“We also watched all of their games because one of them will be our opponent either in the third-place game or in the final. We know the quality of both teams, which are excellent and have already experienced senior basketball through the Croatian First Men’s League, with one side playing for Jazine and the other for Mladost. That experience will certainly help them in junior competition. We respect both teams, but we believe we can compete with them and achieve victory. I think both semifinals will be very exciting, and we are looking forward to the Croatian Championship Finals with the belief that we can win gold”.

Schedule of the junior final tournament:

Saturday, May 30 (semifinals): Cibona - Kvarner (4:30 P.M.), Zadar - Cedevita Junior (6:45 P.M.)

Sunday, May 31: Third-place game (3:00 P.M.), final (5:15 P.M.) and medal ceremony (7:00 P.M.)

The games will be broadcast on ZonaSport TV, while previews and analysis can be found on the KSZ TV YouTube channel.