By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In a quick turnaround from the Night of the Dragon in Ljubljana, Luka Doncic is en route to the Drazen Legacy game in Zagreb.
Announcing more details about the exhibition in memory of his brother Drazen Petrovic on September 5, Aco Petrovic confirmed multiple more players, including Goran Dragic bouncing back from his retirement game and put an asterisk on Nikola Jokic.
“Luka Doncic will be there. Goran Dragic will be there. Our three NBA players, Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric, and Ivica Zubac will be there. And we are still waiting for confirmation on the arrival of Nikola Jokic,” he told Sportske.
Croatian NBA players Bogdanovic, Saric, and Zubac were confirmed in an earlier report about the Drazen Legacy game. However, it is unclear whether they will suit up or instead follow the action from the front row of Arena Zagreb.
More stars in Croatia
Several players will be heading to Zagreb, including an extensive representation from Real Madrid, the last European stop for the late Drazen Petrovic before shining in the NBA.
“Alberto Herreros and Alfonso Reyes as well as three players of the current team. Mario Hezonja will play for Croatia, and Walter Tavares and Dzanan Musa will play for Team Drazen,” Aco Petrovic referred to Los Blancos, “Facundo Campazzo was supposed to be there, but his wife is in an advanced stage of pregnancy and he had to miss the game.”
“There will be more big players such as Mathias Lessort of Panathinaikos, Tornike Shengelia of Virtus Bologna, Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes, Dyshawn Pierre of Fenerbahce, Vanja Marinkovic of Partizan, Nenad Dimitrijevic of Olimpia Milan, Marcelinho Huertas of Tenerife, and Jaka Blazic of Cedevita Olimpija,” he continued.
“I asked Zeljko Obradovic and Neven Spahija, who will lead Team Drazen with our coach Josip Cesar, to make it a real, competitive game,” Aco Petrovic highlighted the importance of honoring the memory of his brother with a serious friendly affair.
Various opponents of Drazen Petrovic, including Nikos Galis, Panagiotis Giannakis, Richard Dacoury, and Doron Jamchi, will also attend, noted Aco Petrovic.
Drazen Petrovic died in a car accident on June 7, 1993. He was coming off four NBA seasons between the New Jersey Nets and Portland Trail Blazers after a brilliant start to his career in Europe.
Photo Credit: FIBA