1.
Belgrade
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Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and its name translates to White city. The urban area of the City of Belgrade has a population of 1.34 million, one of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city and it was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid-2nd century. In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo and it frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841, northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars, Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006. Belgrade has an administrative status within Serbia and it is one of five statistical regions of Serbia. Its metropolitan territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each with its own local council, City of Belgrade covers 3. 6% of Serbias territory, and 22. 5% of the countrys population lives within its administrative limits. It is classified as a Beta- global city, chipped stone tools found at Zemun show that the area around Belgrade was inhabited by nomadic foragers in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras. Some of these belong to the Mousterian industry, which are associated with Neanderthals rather than modern humans. Aurignacian and Gravettian tools have also discovered there, indicating occupation between 50,000 and 20,000 years ago. The first farming people to settle in the region are associated with the Neolithic Starčevo culture, there are several Starčevo sites in and around Belgrade, including the eponymous site of Starčevo. The Starčevo culture was succeeded by the Vinča culture, a more sophisticated farming culture that grew out of the earlier Starčevo settlements which is named for a site in the Belgrade region. Evidence of early knowledge about Belgrades geographical location comes from ancient myths, the rock overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers has been identified as one of the place in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Thracians and Dacians ruled this area prior to the Roman conquest, Belgrade was inhabited by a Thraco-Dacian tribe Singi, after the Celtic invasion in 279 BC, the Scordisci took the city, naming it Singidūn. In 34–33 BC the Roman army led by Silanus reached Belgrade, jovian reestablished Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, ending the brief revival of traditional Roman religions under his predecessor Julian the Apostate. In 395 AD, the passed to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire
2.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
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Covering an area of 255,804 km², the SFRY was bordered with Italy to the west, Hungary to the north, Bulgaria and Romania to the east and Albania and Greece to the south. In addition, it included two autonomous provinces within Serbia, Kosovo and Vojvodina, the SFRY traces back to 29 June 1943 when the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was formed during World War II. On 29 November 1945, the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed after the deposal of King Peter II thus ending the monarchy. Following the death of Tito on 4 May 1980, rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to dissidence among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics. This led to the federation collapsing along the borders, followed by the final downfall and breakup of the federation on 27 April 1992. The term former Yugoslavia is now commonly used retrospectively, the name Yugoslavia, an Anglicised transcription of Jugoslavija, is a composite word made-up of jug and slavija. The Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian word jug means south, while slavija denotes a land of the Slavs, thus, a translation of Jugoslavija would be South-Slavia or Land of the South Slavs. The term is intended to denote the lands occupied by the six South Slavic nations, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Slovenes, the full official name of the federation varied significantly between 1945 and 1992. Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 under the name Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, the name deliberately left the republic-or-kingdom question open. In 1963, amid pervasive liberal constitutional reforms, the name Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was introduced, the state is most commonly referred to by the latter name, which it held for the longest period of all. The most common abbreviation is SFRY, though SFR Yugoslavia was also used in an official capacity, particularly by the media. On 6 April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers led by Nazi Germany, by 17 April 1941, Yugoslav resistance was soon established in two forms, the Royal Yugoslav Army and the Yugoslav Partisans. The Partisan supreme commander was Josip Broz Tito, and under his command the movement soon began establishing liberated territories which attracted the attentions of the occupying forces. The coalition of parties, factions, and prominent individuals behind the movement was the Peoples Liberation Front. The Front formed a political body, the Anti-Fascist Council for the Peoples Liberation of Yugoslavia. The AVNOJ, which met for the first time in Partisan-liberated Bihać on 26 November 1942, during 1943, the Yugoslav Partisans began attracting serious attention from the Germans. In two major operations of Fall Weiss and Fall Schwartz, the Axis attempted to stamp-out the Yugoslav resistance once, on both occasions, despite heavy casualties, the Group succeeded in evading the trap and retreating to safety. The Partisans emerged stronger than before and now occupied a significant portion of Yugoslavia
3.
1989 NBA draft
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The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27,1989, in New York City, New York, USA. It has been regarded as one of the worst drafts in NBA history, eight of the top ten picks were considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry. This was the first draft televised prime time on national television
4.
Point guard
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The point guard, also called the one or point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position, point guards are expected to run the teams offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right players at the right time. A point guard, like other player positions in basketball, specializes in certain skills, a point guards primary job is to facilitate scoring opportunities for his/her team, or sometimes for themselves. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor and this involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break, point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the clock and the game clock, the score. Among the taller players who have enjoyed success at the position is Magic Johnson, other point guards who have been named NBA MVP include Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Derrick Rose and two-time winners Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. In the NBA, point guards are usually about 65 or shorter, having above-average size is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Shorter players tend to be better dribblers since they are closer to the floor, after an opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down court to begin an offensive play. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial, speed is important, a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving him/herself room to work. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring, another major evaluation factor is Assist-to-Turnover ratio, which reflects the decision-making skills of the player. Still, a point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. The point guard is positioned on the perimeter of the play and this is a necessity because of the point guards many leadership obligations. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers as a coach on the floor or a floor general, in the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player-coaches. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players, former Suns head coach Mike DAntoni had often allowed Steve Nash to freelance when leading the Suns offense, even letting him call his own plays at times. Even point guards who are not given this much freedom, however, are extensions of their coach on the floor. John Stockton is widely considered to be the point guard. He also used the pick and roll maneuvre with Karl Malone, along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard
5.
KK Partizan
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KK Partizan is a Serbian professional basketball club based in Belgrade. It is part of the multi-sports Belgrade-based club Partizan, the club competes in the KLS and Adriatic League. Since 1945, Partizan has won around 45 trophies, and is the holder of the 21 national champion titles and they have also won 14 national basketball cups and 6 Adriatic championships, and notably the European Champion trophy at the Final Four of the Euroleague in Istanbul in 1992. Same year club took national championship and cup, and won Triple Crown, KK Partizan was not allowed to defend the Euroleague title in the 1992–93 season, because of UN sanctions. They also won 3 Korać Cups in 1978,1979 and 1989, in September 2009, KK Partizan became the first Serbian team to play an official game against NBA teams. The club was founded on 4 October 1945, as a section of the Sports Association of the Central House of the Yugoslav Army. KK Partizan officially ceased to be a club of the Army in 1953, since the sports society became independent. Although with a roster, including players who played for the national team of Yugoslavia. In the early 1970s, when players started to run the club. He made a selection of young players led by Dražen Dalipagić. He gathered around him other young professionals, and in late 1970s and this period in the clubs history included a few trophies. The first of these was the title of Yugoslav champion in 1975–76 season, after a calm period due to a change of generations, by the end of the 1980s under the leadership of new club director, Dragan Kićanović involved young experts, such as Duško Vujošević. After losing in the semifinals to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Partizan won over Aris, in 1989, enforced by young Predrag Danilović, Partizan won the FIBA Korać Cup for the third time, triumphing over Wiwa Vismara Cantù. After losing the first game in Italy, Partizan celebrated the return leg in Belgrade with 101–82 and that same season, Partizan won the Yugoslav Cup over new European champions Jugoplastika. Vlade Divac and Žarko Paspalj in late 1989, along with Dražen Petrović from Cibona became the first players from the territory of Yugoslavia who pursued their careers in the NBA league. For the new coach, management chose a team captain and former team player with almost no coaching experience. His professional counselor became former Partizan coach and player, top European basketball expert, FIBA decided not to allow teams from the former Yugoslavia to play their home games at their home venues, because of open hostilities in the region. Belgrades Black and Whites have opted to be hosts in the Madrid suburb of Fuenlabrada, obradovićs team began a long season of European and domestic matches, often traveling thousands of kilometers in just a few days, with performance gradually improving
6.
Portland Trail Blazers
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The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. The team played its games in the Memorial Coliseum before moving to Moda Center in 1995. The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA championship once in 1977 and their other NBA Finals appearances were in 1990 and 1992. The team has qualified for the playoffs in 31 seasons of their 45-season existence, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003, the second longest streak in NBA history. The Trail Blazers 31 playoff appearances rank third in the NBA only behind the Los Angeles Lakers, six Hall of Fame players have played for the Trail Blazers. Bill Walton is the franchises most decorated player, he was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1977, four Blazer rookies have won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Sports promoter Harry Glickman sought a National Basketball Association franchise for Portland as far back as 1955 when he proposed two new teams, the other to be located in Los Angeles. To raise the money for the $3.7 million admission tax, Glickman associated himself to real estate magnates Robert Schmertz of New Jersey, Larry Weinberg of Los Angeles and Herman Sarkowsky of Seattle. Two weeks later, on February 24, team management held a contest to select the teams name, the most popular choice was Pioneers, but that name was excluded from consideration as it was already used by sports teams at Portlands Lewis & Clark College. The name Trail Blazers received 172 entries, and was selected by the judging panel. Despite initial mixed response, the Trail Blazers name, often shortened to just Blazers, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Buffalo Braves, the Trail Blazers entered the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team, under coach Rolland Todd. Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks led the team in its years. During that span, the team had three coaches, team executive Stu Inman also served as coach. The team won the first pick in the NBA draft twice during that span, in 1972, the team drafted LaRue Martin with the number one pick, and in 1974 the team selected Bill Walton from UCLA. In 1976, the ABA–NBA merger saw those two rival leagues join forces, four ABA teams joined the NBA, the remaining teams were dissolved and their players distributed among the remaining NBA squads in a dispersal draft. The Trail Blazers selected Maurice Lucas in the dispersal draft and that summer, they also hired Jack Ramsay as head coach. The two moves, coupled with the stellar play, led Portland to several firsts, winning record, playoff appearance
7.
Panathinaikos B.C.
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Panathinaikos B. C. known for sponsorship reasons as Panathinaikos B. C. Superfoods, and also simply as Panathinaikos, or by its full name. It is owned by the billionaire Giannakopoulos family, the parent athletic club was founded in 1908, while the basketball team was founded in 1919, being one of the oldest in the country of Greece. Alongside Aris, they are the only un-relegated teams with participation in every Greek First Division Championship until today, Panathinaikos has developed into the most successful basketball club in Greek basketballs history, and among the best in Europe, creating its own dynasty. They have won thirty-five Greek Basket League Championships, eighteen Greek Cups, nine Doubles, six EuroLeague Championships, one Intercontinental Cup, the team plays in the Olympic Indoor Hall, which has a capacity of 18,989 for basketball games. Panathinaikos is the team on the European continent to win as many as six EuroLeague titles. They hold a rivalry with Olympiacos, and matches between the two teams are referred to as the Derby of the eternal enemies. Panathinaikos started as a club in 1908. In 1919, basketball was still unknown in Greece, during that period Giorgos Kalafatis with other athletes participated in the Inter-Allied Games in Paris and attended basketball games between the Allies of World War I. When he later returned to Greece with the equipment, he set up the Panathinaikos basketball club. In 1919, PAO played their first match against X. A. N, Thessaloniki, another club also pioneer of basketball in Greece, a match which took place at the Panathenaic Stadium. During the German occupation that followed, Dimitris Giannatos was executed by the Nazis for his resistance action, in 1946 and 1947, Panathinaikos emerged champions, with the help of players like Giannis Lambrou, Missas Pantazopoulos, Stelios Arvanitis and Jack Nicolaidis. In 1950 and 1951, Panathinaikos emerged champions once again with the help of great athletes Faidon Matthaiou, in 1954 the club would repeat the success, however the next five years would prove fruitless and the club, despite its strength, would have to be renewed. In 1961 Panathinaikos won the Greek championship with new leaders Giorgos Vassilakopoulos, Stelios Tavoularis, in 1962 Panathinaikos made the repeat and was again the Greek champion. That was also the year that PAO took part for the first time in a European competition facing Hapoel Tel Aviv for the European Championship. In the 23rd of November 1963, Panathinaikos beat Olympiacos 90-48 for the Mantellos Cup, a tournament that was replaced by the Greek Cup. In 1967, Panathinaikos were crowned champions, with Giorgos Kolokithas in their ranks. In 1969, the conquest of the Championship was followed by the first European success of the club, the entrance in the semi-finals of the Cup Winners Cup, where they were eliminated by Dinamo Tbilisi
8.
Awards of Olympic Committee of Serbia
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Awards of Olympic Committee of Serbia are proclaimed since 1994, at the end of each calendar year, to the most successful athletes. From 1994 to 2003 name was FR Yugoslavia and from 2003 to 2006 Serbia, initially declared sportswoman and sportsman, and later introduced the award for best the womens team, the mens team, coach and young sportsperson. The competition includes results from current Olympic sports, also and from Chess Olympiad, awards are given to the athletes and teams according to their results in Olympic sports, Paralympic sports and from Chess Olympiad. The most valuable results are those accomplished in these competitions,1, if two sportspersons have identical results, the award will go to athletes from individual sports instead of team sports. An exception can be if an athlete from a team sport won a MVP award at the Olympic Games. Also, the popularity of their sports can be taken into account. If there are no results in given year, the award will not be presented. This award is proclaimed since the introduction of awards in 1994, so far it was awarded to 12 different athletes from 9 sports. This award is proclaimed since the introduction of awards in 1994, so far it was awarded to 13 different athletes from 8 sports. This award is introduced in 2010, so far it was awarded to 6 different athletes from 6 sports. This award is introduced in 1995 and it was awarded to 10 different teams from 7 different sports. This award is introduced in 1995 and it was awarded to 4 different teams from 4 different sports. This award is introduced in 2009 and it was awarded to 6 different coaches from 5 different sports. Serbian Sportspersonality of the Year List of winners
9.
EuroLeague
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Introduced in 2000, the competition replaced the FIBA EuroLeague, which had been run by FIBA since 1958. For Euroleague Basketball records purposes, the FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague are considered to be the same competition, with the change of name being simply a re-branding. EuroLeague is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 8,184. The EuroLeague title has been won by 20 different clubs,13 of which have won the more than once. The FIBA European Champions Cup was originally established by FIBA and it operated under its umbrella from 1958 until the summer of 2000 and that was when Euroleague Basketball was created. FIBA had never trademarked the EuroLeague name, even though it had used that name for the competition since 1996. Euroleague Basketball simply appropriated the name, and since FIBA had no recourse to do anything about it, it was forced to find a new name for its championship series. Thus, the following 2000–2001 season started with 2 separate top European professional club competitions, the FIBA SuproLeague. The rift in European professional club basketball initially showed no signs of letting up, in May 2001, Europe had two continental champions, Maccabi of the FIBA SuproLeague and Kinder Bologna of the Euroleague. The leaders of both organizations realized the need to come up with a unified competition, although only a year old, Euroleague Basketball negotiated from a position of strength and dictated proceedings. FIBA essentially had no choice but to agree to Euroleague Basketballs terms, as a result, European club competition was fully integrated under Euroleague Basketballs umbrella and teams that competed in the FIBA SuproLeague during the 2000–01 season joined it as well. In essence, the authority in European professional basketball was divided over club-country lines, FIBA stayed in charge of national team competitions, while Euroleague Basketball took over the European professional club competitions. From that point on, FIBAs Korać Cup and Saporta Cup competitions lasted only one season before folding. In November 2015, Euroleague Basketball and IMG agreed on 10-year joint venture, both Euroleague Basketball and IMG will manage the commercial operation, and the management of all global rights covering both media and marketing. The deal was worth €630 million euros guaranteed, with projected revenues reaching €900 million euros, FIBA era, FIBA European Champions Cup, FIBA European League, FIBA EuroLeague, FIBA SuproLeague, Euroleague Basketball era, Euroleague. *There were two separate competitions during the 2000–01 season, the SuproLeague, which was organized by FIBA, and the Euroleague, which was organized by Euroleague Basketball. On 26 July 2010, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball announced a €15 million strategic agreement to sponsor the top European basketball competition across the globe, according to the agreement, starting with the 2010–11 season, the top European competition would be named Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball. Similarly, the EuroLeague Final Four would be named the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four and this title partnership was set to run for five seasons, with the option of extending it to an additional five
10.
2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup
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The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle, the next FIBA World Cup will be held five years later, in 2019, to reset the four-year-cycle on a different year than the FIFA World Cup. FIBA opened the process on 10 January 2008 and all the letters of intent were submitted on 30 April 2008. Nine countries showed interest in hosting the event, as in order, they were Spain, France, Denmark, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Italy, Greece, and China. On 23 May 2009, after voting by the FIBA Central Board in Geneva in which the Chinese and Spanish representatives abstained, in the final round, Arvydas Sabonis and Saša Djordjević announced that Spain won the hosting rights with eleven votes as opposed to Italys eight. The Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid was the venue, hosting the final. Amongst venues used in FIBA EuroBasket 2007, the arenas in Granada, Seville, one arena, the Gran Canaria Arena, was the only new venue, being built after the tournament was awarded to Spain. The other cities hosted a group, on 17 April 2010, Barcelona was added to the list of cities to hold games, bringing the total venues to six. This was Barcelonas first time being part of an international event in basketball since the 1997 EuroBasket. Barcelona will host half of the games in the knockout stage, below is a list of the confirmed venues which were used to host games during the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Connor Floor was the supplier of the basketball courts for each of the six sites. There were 24 teams taking part in the 2014 World Cup of Basketball, after the 2012 Olympics, the continental allocation for FIBA Americas was reduced by one when the United States won the Olympic tournament, automatically qualifying them for the 2014 World Cup. But later the FIBA Central Board decided not to trim the list of wild card applicants on their Buenos Aires meeting, making all 15 teams eligible to be selected on the February meeting at Barcelona. On 1 February 2014, FIBA announced that it had allocated the wild cards to Brazil, Finland, Greece and Turkey. The Senegalese federation was suspended due to age fabrication in the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for Men and for Women. This was the first time the new expanded free throw lane, the restricted arc, the final round was held in two arenas, in the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid and Palau Sant Jordi, as opposed to a singular arena in 2010. Also, the arrangement of the round of 16 match-ups in the bracket were changed, in 2010, a team from Group A or B can meet a team from Group C or D as early in the quarterfinals, and cannot meet their groupmates until the semifinals. In 2010, the round of 16 games were held in a span of four days, or two matches per day, in 2014, there would be four games per day, finally, the classification round for 5th place was also eliminated
