First Federal Basketball League

Basketball league

Basketball league

First Federal Basketball LeagueFounded| 1945

|

Folded| 1992
Countries|  Yugoslavia
Level on pyramid| 1st Tier
(Yugoslavia)
Relegation to| First B Federal League
Related competitions| Yugoslav Basketball Cup
Last champions| Partizan (5th title)
Most championships| Crvena zvezda (12 titles)
All-time top scorer| Vinko Jelovac (7,351)

The First Federal Basketball League (Serbo-Croatian: Prva savezna košarkaška liga) was the highest tier level men's professional club basketball competition in the former country of SFR Yugoslavia. Founded in 1945, and folded in 1992 (1991–92 Winer Broker YUBA League), it was run by the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia. With a total of 16 European-wide trophy winners and 11 finalists, the Yugoslav First Basketball League was one of the strongest European national domestic basketball leagues of all time.

Although each of the former Yugoslav countries now have their own national domestic leagues, the six nations also now take part in the ABA League (commonly known as the Adriatic League), which was founded in 2001; and which is, the closest basketball league in existence today, that is similar to the former Yugoslav First Federal Basketball League.

## History

[edit]

After the end of Second World War in Yugoslavia in 1945, there arose a need for athletic development in the fledgling nation. Post-WW2 Yugoslavia was (with the exception of major cities such as Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Sarajevo) for the most part lacking in competitive opportunities in sports. In response to this, 1945 and 1946 saw an explosion of new clubs and leagues for every sport, the basketball league being part of this phenomenon.

The very first competition under the newly formed Yugoslav Basketball League in 1945, drawing parallel to the Yugoslav First League (of football), was more or less a nationwide affirmation of unity. Instead of individual clubs competing in the usual fashion, there were only eight teams. Six representing each state within Yugoslavia, one representing the province of Vojvodina, and the last representing the Yugoslav People's Army.

Only in the 1970s did the basketball culture of Yugoslavia truly come to enjoy recognition as the top nation in basketball. Breaking away from the dominance of the Soviet Union, the Yugoslav league gave rise to stars that would go on to win multiple Basketball World Championships and European Basketball Championships. After a decade of dominance, the 1980s saw a disappointing slump of talent in the Yugoslav Basketball League.

Once again the world witnessed a sleeping giant come awake in the early 90s as Yugoslavia won two straight European Basketball Championships and a World Basketball Championship. This momentum was swiftly halted by the ethnic strife which broke out in 1991. Clubs from SR Slovenia and SR Croatia withdrew from the league so that the 1991–92 season, the competition's last, was contested without them. The country got divided into five successor republics, each founding their own basketball federations with the exception of Serbia and Montenegro, which retained the name Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the YUBA League.

Despite all these changes, the joint league of clubs from the former Yugoslavia proved to be a winning league format formula, so on 3 July 2001, the Adriatic League was founded. It features teams from all the former Yugoslav states, and it exists alongside scaled-down versions of the individual national domestic leagues of each of the former Yugoslav states.

## Title holders

[edit]

* 1945: Yugoslav Army
* 1946: Crvena zvezda
* 1947: Crvena zvezda
* 1948: Crvena zvezda
* 1949: Crvena zvezda
* 1950: Crvena zvezda
* 1951: Crvena zvezda
* 1952: Crvena zvezda
* 1953: Crvena zvezda
* 1954: Crvena zvezda
* 1955: Crvena zvezda
* 1956: Proleter Zrenjanin
* 1957: AŠK Olimpija
* 1958: OKK Beograd
* 1959: AŠK Olimpija
* 1960: OKK Beograd
* ......1961: AŠK Olimpija
* ......1962: AŠK Olimpija
* ......1963: OKK Beograd
* ......1964: OKK Beograd
* ......1965: Zadar
* ......1966: AŠK Olimpija
* ......1967: Zadar
* 1967–68: Zadar
* 1968–69: Crvena zvezda
* 1969–70: AŠK Olimpija
* 1970–71: Jugoplastika
* 1971–72: Crvena zvezda
* 1972–73: Radnički Belgrade
* 1973–74: Zadar
* 1974–75: Zadar
* 1975–76: Partizan
* 1976–77: Jugoplastika
* 1977–78: Bosna
* 1978–79: Partizan
* 1979–80: Bosna
* 1980–81: Partizan
* 1981–82: Cibona
* 1982–83: Bosna [Note 1][2]
* 1983–84: Cibona
* 1984–85: Cibona
* 1985–86: Zadar
* 1986–87: Partizan
* 1987–88: Jugoplastika
* 1988–89: Jugoplastika
* 1989–90: Jugoplastika
* 1990–91: POP 84
* 1991–92: Partizan

### Performance by club

[edit]

Titles | Club | Years

|
|

12 | Crvena zvezda | 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1968–69, 1971–72
6 | Olimpija | 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969–70
Zadar | 1965, 1967, 1967–68, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1985–86
Split | 1970–71, 1976–77, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91
5 | Partizan | 1975–76, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1991–92
4 | OKK Beograd | 1958, 1960, 1963, 1964
3 | Bosna | 1977–78, 1979–80, 1982–83
Cibona | 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85
1 | Yugoslav Army | 1945
Proleter Zrenjanin | 1956
Radnički Belgrade | 1972–73

### Performance by constitutional republics

[edit]

Titles | Republic

|

23 |  SR Serbia
15 |  SR Croatia
6 |  SR Slovenia
3 |  SR Bosnia and Herzegovina

## Playoff finals

[edit]

Playoffs, as a way of determining the Yugoslav First Basketball League champion following the regular season, got instituted in 1981 ahead of the 1981–82 season.

Season  | Home court advantage | Coach  | Result  | Home court disadvantage | Coach  | 1st of Regular Season  | Record

|
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|

1981–82

| Partizan | Borislav Ćorković |

0–2

| Cibona | Mirko Novosel | Partizan |

18–4

1982–83

| Šibenka | Vlade Đurović |

1–2

| Bosna | Svetislav Pešić | Šibenka |

16–6

1983–84

| Cibona | Mirko Novosel |

2–1

| Crvena zvezda | Ranko Žeravica | Cibona |

16–6

1984–85

| Cibona | Željko Pavličević |

2–1

| Crvena zvezda | Ranko Žeravica | Cibona |

19–3

1985–86

| Cibona | Željko Pavličević |

1–2

| Zadar | Vlade Đurović | Cibona |

21–1

1986–87

| Partizan | Duško Vujošević |

2–0

| Crvena zvezda | Vlade Đurović | Cibona |

22–0

1987–88

| Jugoplastika | Božidar Maljković |

2–1

| Partizan | Duško Vujošević | Jugoplastika |

21–1

1988–89

| Partizan | Duško Vujošević |

0–2

| Jugoplastika | Božidar Maljković | Partizan |

16–6

1989–90

| Jugoplastika | Božidar Maljković |

3–1

| Crvena zvezda | Zoran Slavnić | Jugoplastika |

19–3

1990–91

| POP 84 | Željko Pavličević |

3–0

| Partizan | Duško Vujošević | Pop 84 |

19–3

1991–92

| Partizan | Željko Obradović |

3–0

| Crvena zvezda | Duško Vujošević | Partizan |

20–2

Source: official website archive[3]

## All-time participants

[edit]

1st  | Champions

|

2nd  | Runners-up
SF  | Semi-finalists
QF  | Quarter-finalists
Q  | Play-in qualifying round
| Relegated
R | Regular season champions
S | Yugoslav Second League clubs in Playoff phase
Team  | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | Total
seasons  | Highest
finish

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|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Bosna |

12th

4th

7th

3rd

2nd

1st

4th

1st

7th

2nd

6th

8th

5th

Čelik |

12th

Igman Ilidža |

14th

Sloboda Tuzla |

9th

11th

11th

11th

Željezničar Sarajevo |

9th

12th

11th

14th

13th

Cibona |

2nd

4th

6th

6th

4th

7th

8th

5th

5th

4th

2nd

3rd

8th

10th

8th

7th

4th

5th

3rd

3rd

2nd

1st

1stR

1stR

2ndR

SFR

7th

Withdrawn

Dalvin |

14th

Kvarner |

14th

8th

11th

12th

12th

12th

Mladost |

10th

Slavonski Brod |

12th

11th

12th

Split |

9th

6th

5th

6th

6th

3rd

3rd

1st

2nd

6th

2nd

2nd

2nd

1st

3rd

2nd

2nd

11th

QFS

10th

1stR

1st

1stR

1stR

Withdrawn

Šibenka |

8th

4th

1stR

10th

11th

Zadar |

4th

3rd

5th

2nd

1st

3rd

1st

1st

4th

6th

7th

10th

9th

1st

1st

8th

11th

6th

10th

6th

3rd

1st

5th

Withdrawn

Zagreb |

9th

Withdrawn

Zrinjevac |

13th

12th

13th

Željezničar Karlovac |

7th

7th

4th

5th

7th

6th

5th

8th

9th

10th

12th

11th

14th

MZT Skopje |

11th

Rabotnički |

11th

11th

10th

7th

5th

5th

10th

11th

5th

9th

12th

13th

9th

10th

12th

11th

12th

Budućnost |

8th

10th

12th

10th

10th

Ivangrad |

12th

Atlas |

9th

12th

8th

10th

6th

12th

OKK Beograd |

3rd

2nd

1st

1st

3rd

8th

4th

7th

8th

5th

4th

8th

7th

9th

11th

4th

5th

12th

9th

11th

Borac Čačak |

10th

10th

11th

7th

8th

9th

9th

4th

8th

9th

14th

10th

5th

12th

10th

9th

12th

Crvena zvezda |

6th

8th

8th

3rd

8th

4th

3rd

3rd

1st

2nd

3rd

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

8th

7th

5th

5th

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

9th

2nd

Dinamo Pančevo |

10th

Metalac Valjevo |

12th

12th

11th

9th

9th

11th

Partizan |

5th

6th

2nd

7th

5th

2nd

7th

4th

6th

9th

10th

6th

3rd

6th

3rd

1st

3rd

2nd

1st

4th

1st

2ndR

1st

2nd

2ndR

8th

2nd

1stR

Proleter Zrenjanin |

10th

13th

Radnički Beograd |

8th

5th

7th

8th

9th

9th

9th

9th

11th

11th

8th

4th

1st

5th

10th

6th

7th

7th

6th

10th

9th

9th

11th

QFS

11th

9th

Zastava Kragujevac |

9th

Sloboda Užice |

11th

7th

Sloga |

12th

11th

Spartak Subotica |

6th

Šabac |

12th

Vojvodina |

13th

9th

5th

5th

8th

Branik |

12th

Olimpija |

1st

1st

3rd

4th

2nd

1st

2nd

2nd

2nd

1st

6th

7th

5th

7th

6th

10th

10th

4th

8th

7th

6th

12th

QFS

11th

6th

7th

7th

Withdrawn

Plama Pur |

12th

Slovan |

10th

10th

11th

10th

12th

## Clubs in European and worldwide competitions

[edit]

Main article: Yugoslav basketball clubs in European and worldwide competitions

## Notable players

[edit]

Award winners

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

* Krešimir Ćosić (1996)
* Dražen Petrović (2002)
* Dražen Dalipagić (2004)
* Dino Rađa (2018)
* Vlade Divac (2019)
* Toni Kukoč (2021)

FIBA Hall of Fame

* Krešimir Ćosić (2007)
* Dražen Dalipagić (2007)
* Ivo Daneu (2007)
* Mirza Delibašić (2007)
* Radivoj Korać (2007)
* Dražen Petrović (2007)
* Vlade Divac (2010)
* Dragan Kićanović (2010)
* Zoran Slavnić (2013)

FIBA's 50 Greatest Players

* Krešimir Ćosić (1991)
* Dražen Dalipagić (1991)
* Ivo Daneu (1991)
* Mirza Delibašić (1991)
* Vlade Divac (1991)
* Dragan Kićanović (1991)
* Radivoj Korać (1991)
* Toni Kukoč (1991)
* Dražen Petrović (1991)
* Dino Rađa (1991)
* Petar Skansi (1991)
* Zoran Slavnić (1991)

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors

* Dejan Bodiroga (2008)
* Krešimir Ćosić (2008)
* Predrag Danilović (2008)
* Mirza Delibašić (2008)
* Vlade Divac (2008)
* Aleksandar Đorđević (2008)
* Radivoj Korać (2008)
* Toni Kukoč (2008)
* Dražen Petrović (2008)
* Dino Rađa (2008)

|
|

EuroLeague Final Four MVP

* Dino Rađa (1989)
* Toni Kukoč (1990, 1991, 1993)
* Predrag Danilović (1992)
* Žarko Paspalj (1994)
* Zoran Savić (1998)
* Željko Rebrača (2000)
* Dejan Bodiroga (2002, 2003)

EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer

* Petar Skansi (1972)
* Žarko Varajić (1979)
* Dražen Petrović (1985)

FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer

* Zoran Slavnić (1974, 1975)
* Srećko Jarić (1977)
* Andro Knego (1982)
* Dragan Kićanović (1983)
* Dražen Petrović (1987, 1989)
* Branislav Prelević (1991, 1992, 1996)
* Roman Horvat (1994)
* Petar Naumoski (1995, 2002)
* Predrag Danilović (2000)

FIBA Korać Cup Finals Top Scorer

* Nikola Plećaš (1972)
* Dražen Dalipagić (1974, 1978)
* Željko Jerkov (1977)
* Dragan Kićanović (1979)
* Dražen Petrović (1988)
* Vlade Divac (1989)
* Aleksandar Đorđević (1993, 1999)
* Teoman Alibegović (1995)
* Petar Naumoski (1996)

Euroscar

* Dražen Dalipagić (1980)
* Dragan Kićanović (1981, 1982)
* Dražen Petrović (1986, 1989, 1992, 1993)
* Toni Kukoč (1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998)

Mr. Europa

* Dražen Dalipagić (1977, 1978)
* Dragan Kićanović (1981, 1982)
* Dražen Petrović (1986, 1993)
* Vlade Divac (1989)
* Toni Kukoč (1990, 1991, 1992, 1996)
* Aleksandar Đorđević (1994, 1995)

|
|

## Statistical leaders

[edit]

Main article: Yugoslav First Federal Basketball League Top Scorer

Main article: Yugoslav First Federal Basketball League career stats leaders

## Successor leagues

[edit]

* YUBA League (1992–2006)
* HT Premijer liga (1991–present)
* Premier A League (1991–present)
* Basketball Championship (1993–present)
* First League (1992–present)
* Basketball League (2006–present)
* Basketball League (2006–present)
* Adriatic League (2001–present)

## See also

[edit]

* Yugoslav 1. B Federal Basketball League
* Yugoslav Basketball Cup

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ On Saturday, 9 April 1983 at Baldekin Hall in Šibenik, Šibenka and Bosna played the deciding game 3 of their best-of-three playoff final series. The contest was decided in the very last second: Bosna's Sabit Hadžić got called for a foul on Šibenka's Dražen Petrović who proceeded to score two free throws that won the game. The next morning, after watching video replays of the game's last moments, the presidency of the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia (KSJ) established that the foul happened after time had already elapsed. The game was thus voided and a rematch was ordered at a neutral venue in Novi Sad. Unhappy with the decision Šibenka decided to boycott it, refusing to show up for the rematch. The championship got awarded to Bosna.[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Režimski poraz iz '83. bio je pobjeda: "I hrvatski klubovi grozili su se na pomisao da Dražen sa Šibenkom osvoji naslov"" (in Croatian). Index.hr. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
2. ^ "Tri decenije od historijske utakmice Bosne i Šibenke (VIDEO)". sport.ba. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
3. ^ "Tabele državnih prvenstava od sezone 1991/92 (archive copy at the Wayback Machine)". Basketball League of Serbia. 5 June 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2010.

* v
* t
* e

Yugoslav First Federal Basketball League (1945–1992)

Clubs|

* Bosna
* Borac Čačak
* Budućnost
* Cibona
* Crvena zvezda
* Čelik
* Dalvin
* Dinamo Pančevo
* Eđšeg
* Igman
* IMT
* Industromontaža
* Ivangrad
* Jugoplastika
* Jugoslovenska armija
* Kvarner
* Lesonit
* Lokomotiva Rijeka
* Makedonija
* Maribor 66
* Metalac
* Milicionar
* Mladost
* MZT Skopje
* Novi Zagreb
* OKK Beograd
* Olimpija
* Oriolik
* Partizan
* Proleter Zrenjanin
* Rabotnički
* Radnički Belgrade
* Slavija
* Sloboda Tuzla
* Sloboda Užice
* Sloga
* Slovan
* Spartak Subotica
* Šibenka
* Vojvodina
* Zadar
* Zastava Kragujevac
* Zorka Šabac
* Železničar Belgrade
* Željezničar Karlovac
* Željezničar Sarajevo
* ŽKK Ljubljana
* ŽKK Maribor

Seasons|

* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1967–68
* 1968–69
* 1969–70
* 1970–71
* 1971–72
* 1972–73
* 1973–74
* 1974–75
* 1975–76
* 1976–77
* 1977–78
* 1978–79
* 1979–80
* 1980–81
* 1981–82
* 1982–83
* 1983–84
* 1984–85
* 1985–86
* 1986–87
* 1987–88
* 1988–89
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* 1991–92

Statistics|

* Scoring leaders
* Annual
* Career

Associated
competitions|

* Clubs in international competitions
* First B Federal League

* v
* t
* e

Basketball in Yugoslavia

* Basketball Federation
* Yugoslav clubs in international competitions

National teams|

| Men|

* Yugoslavia
* U19
* U18
* U16
* University

|

Women|

* Yugoslavia
* U19
* U18
* U16
* University

League competitions|

| Men|

* First Federal League
* First B Federal League

|

Women|

* First Women's League
* Second Women's League

Cup competitions|

| Men|

* Yugoslav Cup

|

Women|

* Yugoslav Cup

* v
* t
* e

Yugoslav basketball clubs in international competitions

* Bosna
* Cibona
* Crvena zvezda
* Kvarner
* OKK Beograd
* Olimpija
* Partizan
* Radnički Belgrade
* Šibenik
* Split
* Zadar

* v
* t
* e

Men's basketball leagues

* FIBA
* FIBA Intercontinental Cup
* National Basketball Association
* NBA vs. international teams
* NBA vs. EuroLeague

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* 2nd
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Central African Republic
* Comoros
* Egypt
* Guinea
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Nigeria
* 2nd
* Rwanda
* 2nd
* Senegal
* 2nd
* Seychelles
* South Africa
* BNL
* National
* Tanzania
* Tunisia
* 2nd
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Americas|

* Argentina
* 2nd
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* 2nd
* Canada
* NBA G League
* BSL
* CEBL
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic (Torneo Superior de Baloncesto)
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Mexico
* CIBACOPA
* NBA G League
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Puerto Rico
* United States
* NBA G League
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Bahrain
* China
* NBL
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Mongolia
* Oman
* Philippines
* PBA
* PBA D-League
* MPBL
* NBL–Pilipinas
* PSL
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Syria
* Taiwan
* P. League+
* TPBL
* SBL
* Thailand
* United Arab Emirates
* Vietnam

Europe|

* Albania
* 2nd
* Austria
* 2nd
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* 2nd – RS
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* 2nd
* Cyprus
* North
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* 2nd
* France
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Georgia
* Germany
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Great Britain
* England
* Scotland
* Greece
* 2nd
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Israel
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Italy
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Kosovo
* 2nd
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Luxembourg
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* 2nd
* Portugal
* 2nd
* Romania
* Russia
* 2nd
* Serbia
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Sweden
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Switzerland
* 2nd
* Turkey
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Ukraine
* 2nd

Oceania|

* Australia
* New Zealand

International
tournaments|

| Africa|

* Basketball Africa League
* Arab Club Basketball Championship

|

Americas|

* FIBA Champions League Americas
* FIBA South American League

Asia|

* Basketball Champions League Asia
* East Asia Super League
* West Asia Super League
* Arab Club Basketball Championship
* AsiaBasket

Europe|

* EuroLeague
* EuroCup
* FIBA Champions League
* FIBA Europe Cup
* Adriatic League
* 2nd
* Alpe Adria Cup
* Balkan League
* Caucasus Basketball League
* European North Basketball League
* Latvian–Estonian Basketball League
* Liga Unike
* VTB United League

Defunct
tournaments|

| Africa|

* FIBA Africa Basketball League

|

Americas|

* FIBA Americas League
* Pan American Championship
* South American Championship
* Torneo InterLigas
* Argentina
* Brazil
* Chile
* Canada
* NBLC
* United States
* ABA
* CBA
* USBL
* Uruguay

Asia|

* ABA Club Championship
* ASEAN League
* WABA Champions Cup
* Japan
* bj league
* NBL
* NBDL
* JBL
* Taiwan
* Chinese Basketball Alliance
* T1 League

Europe|

* SuproLeague
* Saporta Cup
* Korać Cup
* EuroChallenge
* EuroCup Challenge
* Baltic League
* Central European League
* Latin Cup
* North European League
* Czechoslovakia
* England
* Russia
* Serbia and Montenegro
* 2nd
* Spain
* Soviet Union
* Turkey
* Yugoslavia
* 2nd

* Category

* v
* t
* e

National sports leagues of Yugoslavia

* Basketball
* Football
* Handball
* Ice Hockey
* Rugby
* Volleyball
* Water Polo

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