By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Similar to what happened in Ljubljana a few weeks ago to honor Goran Dragic’s retirement from basketball, Zagreb hosted some legendary basketball names tonight. The reason was remarkable: honoring the legacy of a true icon like Drazen Petrovic.
Luka Doncic and his father Sasa, Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja, Aleksandar Dzikic, Jorge Garbajosa, Ergin Ataman, and a lot more accepted the invite of Drazen’s brother and current Brazilian national team’s head coach Aleksandar Petrovic to attend the show.
On the court, Team Drazen defeated Team Croatia 110-107 with Dzanan Musa leading the scoreboard with 19 points. Tornike Shengelia and Mathias Lessort dropped 13 points each, while Boban Marjanovic and Andreas Obst each contributed with 11 points under Zeljko Obradovic‘s guidance. Team Croatia couldn’t win the friendly game but was heavily dragged by Mario Hezonja, who had 36 points in the loss.
Before the game, as reported by Mozzart Sport, Aleksandar Petrovic delivered an emotional speech to the 15.000 people who fully occupied the seats of the Zagreb Arena. During the encounter, the event was highlighted by several legends of the game like Svetislav Pesic, Predrag Danilovic, and many more making their presence to honor the late Mozzart of basketball.
Even the full silver medalist Croatian team from the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona paid tribute to their legendary teammate and leader, entering the court between the third and fourth quarter. Moreover, trailers of an upcoming life on Drazen Petrovic’s movie – coming out on October 22 – and clips from his past were shown on the LED court of the arena.
The Drazen Petrovic Memorial game included even the legend himself pic.twitter.com/cyJii8unbo
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 5, 2024
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA