The Cedevita Basketball Club was established in Zagreb in 1991 under the name Botinec, which was later changed to Hiron. From season to season, the club moved up from the lowest levels of competition until it reached the A-1 league in 2002. In its very first season of elite competition, it took 5th place in Croatia, behind the well-known clubs of Cibona, Zadar, Zagreb and Split. A big step was taken in 2005 when Atlantic Grupa (www.atlantic.hr), a strong regional company, became the main sponsor of the club, after which the club was renamed Cedevita.

CEO Atlantic Grupa Emil Tedeschi with club CEO Veber, GM Novosel and manager Mamić

The young and modern board of directors raised the ambitions of the club, which achieved its greatest success in the 09/10 Season when it finished at 3rd place in the Croatian league (in the semi-final playoffs Zadar-Cedevita 2:1), played the semi-finals of the Croatian Cup (Zagreb-Cedevita 1:0) along with taking 7th place in the strong regional Adriatic NLB league where, at its home court Sutinska vrela, Cedevita beat Euroleague Final Four member Partizan, Hemofarm, FMP, Radnički and Crvena Zvezda from Serbia, Cibona, Zadar and Zagreb from Croatia, Budućnost from Montenegro, Bosna and Široki from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Helios from Slovenia, or in the FIBA Eurochallenge Cup Dexia from Belgium and Proteas from Cyprus.

Since 2005, the club has been led by great coaches such as the former coach of the Croatian National Team Srećko Medvedec, former Olympic Silver Medalist from Seoul and best scorer of the Euroleague Zdravko Radulović, and former Yugoslavian National Team player Slobodan Subotić, former coach of Olympiacos and Panathinaikos. Today, sitting on Cedevita’s bench is former National Team player and later Croatian National Team coach Aleksandar Petrović (brother of the famous Dražen Petrović) who will also guide the club in the following season.

Coach Aco Petrović

Over the past few years, former Croatian and Bosnian National team members played for the team, including Slaven Rimac, Jurica Žuža, Damir Milačić, Krešimir Novosel, Mate Miliša, Milan Parezanović, Pero Dujmović, Stipe Modrić, Frano Čolak…alongside several excellent American players such as A.J. Guyton, Marlon Garnett, Adam Harrington, God Shammgod, Vonteego Cummings or Ramel Bradley.

Last season’s roster was especially strong with former Croatian National Team players Andrija Žižić, Marino Baždarić and Damjan Rudež, current B National Team player Tomislav Petrović, Bosnia and Herzegovina National Team players Bariša Krasić and Ivan Opačak, Canadian National Team playmaker Jermaine Anderson and Americans Ricardo Marsh and Thomas Mobley, as well as the U-20 Croatian National Team player Dino Butorac.

The best scorer NLB league ever, Marino Baždarić against Partizan

BC Cedevita had some success with the younger selections as well. The B team won 1st place in the second league, the juniors played in the Final Four of Croatian junior Championship, while the cadets (generation 1994) won the Croatian championship. About 200 boys are being coached in the basketball school, the youngest generation.

President of BC Cedevita is Mladen Veber, Senior Vice President of Atlantic Grupa, head sponsor of the club, largest producer of sports beverages and vitamin supplements for sportsmen in Europe with the leading brands of Multipower and Cedevita, among other, the largest distribution company in the region, who, with the recent purchase of Slovenian company Droga Kolinska, became one of the largest food companies in the region. General manager is Krešimir Novosel, former Croatian National Team member (son of hall of fame coach Mirko Novosel) and the sports director is Matej Mamić, former Croatian National Team player and captain of Cibona and Alba Berlin.

Damjan Rudež, member of Olympic team Croatia Peking 2008