Adriatic League relieved, no incidents in Zagreb and Belgrade but turmoil in Cibona

The Adriatic League game in the Croatian capital Zagreb between home team and visiting Red Star Belgrade was no ordinary game. The reason?

Last week the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague (the Netherlands) overturned the convictions of two Croatian generals for committing war crimes during the 1990’s break-up of Yugoslavia.

Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac had already been sentenced to 24 and 18 years behind bars respectively for crimes against humanity and war crimes relating to a 1995 attack on Serbian civilians and the ethnic cleansing of 250.000 Serbs from Croatia. The appeals chamber now overturned these guilty verdicts and set the two generals free. This was broadcasted live on Croatian TV and lead to an eruption of euphoria in the whole country like if the World Cup in Football had just been won, but in Serbia there was outrage. Tensions rose and a virtual war was fought out on the internet between Serbs and Croats.

There was even some speculation that Serb coach Bozidar Maljkovic may have left Croatian team Cedevita Zagreb earlier this week due to the happenings in the Hague and the changing moods in Croatia and Serbia.

Red Star Belgrade would be the first team from Serbia to visit Croatia after the decision of the ICTY and everybody feared politically motivated riots and incidents. A record number of 32 journalist from Serbia came to Zagreb for this game.

Luckily enough, nothing happened. The atmosphere in the gym was calm and respectful, and the Red Star players even walked around down-town Zagreb without any incidents.

Cibona lost the game with 63-71 and immediately after the game head coach Veljko Mrsic resigned.

Red Start DIVA

Despite rumors that Cibona is about to sign Dario Saric (one of the most talented young players in Europe), the former Euroleague winner is in real bad shape. The team has lost 6 games in a row and the financial situation is also very shaky (there is a separate sponsor for Dario Saric).

Red Stars DIVA on the other hand has won 8 games in a row and is on a roll. Both in the Adriatic League and in the Eurocup.

In another Adriatic League game surprise leader Igokea from Bosnia (Serbian part) won on the road against Hungarian team Szolnok with 82-78, while Montenegrin team Buducnost won at home against Serbian team Radnicki Kragujevac with 80-78.

The top game of the weekend was between Partizan Belgrade and Cedevita Zagreb. Both were pre-season favorites to win the Adriatic league this year, and Cedevita was the first team from Croatia to visit Serbia after the decision by the ICTY. Partizan won the game by 58-55 and there were no incidents in the gym.

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[standings league_id=1]