This meeting promised to be rich in emotions, and it clearly was. You only have to look at the more than 15,000 spectators present in the Zagreb Arena, singing and clappingin a warm atmosphere. Or the poignant speech of Aleksandar Petrovic before the meeting.
It was in this context that this tribute match took place, organized to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the birth of Drazen PetrovicThe latter's brother had set up a “Team Drazen”, coached by Zeljko Obradovic and Neven Spahija, to face the Croatian national team.
On the court, the team of European stars narrowly won (110-107) with a dunk in the last moments by Dzanan Musa, to which Mario Hezonja tried to respond, in vain, with a three-point basket, to equalize. The Real Madrid winger scored 36 points, in addition to winning the 3-point shooting contest at halftime.
It has been an amazing basketball evening in packed Zagreb Arena tonight, where Croatian and European stars have gathered in honor of Dražen Petrović, who would have turned 60 years of age this year.
A spectacle worthy of one of the greatest basketball legends of all time! pic.twitter.com/JRqdqD1j10
— AdmiralBet ABA League (@ABA_League) September 5, 2024
The Mozart of basketball in hologram
The opposing team included Walter Tavares, Shane Larkin, Mathias Lessort, Vanja Marinkovic, Dyshawn Pierre, Tornike Shengelia, Andreas Obst and Boban Marjanovic. Some players who were announced to be on the pitch ultimately did not put on their shorts.
But there were present in the stands, in the middle of a constellation of European basketball stars. Slovenians Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic were there, as were Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric and Ivica Zubac.
There were especially a number of “old hands”, Nikos Galis, Panagiotis Giannakis, Dejan Bodiroga, Toni Kukoc, Terry Porter, Kenny Anderson, Zarko Paspalj, Vlade Divac, Zoran Radovic, Predrag Danilovic, Ergin Ataman, Svetislav Pesic, Roko Leni Ukic , Jorge Garbajosa…
The highlight of this tribute moment was the appearance of Drazen Petrovic himself, dribbling and saying a few words. It was his hologram that greeted his audience with a wave as he was about to step aside. At which point the crowd chanted: ” How good it is to see you again. »
Photo credit: DR
