Has K.K. Split been sold? Nobody seems to know & nobody seems to care (EDITORIAL)

15.09.2022 - Yesterday, at 15:00, the tender to buy basketball club K.K. Split's shares from the City of Split ran out. The result is still unknown. Rumors are that there has been no response. TCN has asked for official feedback.

Mayor Puljak (left) and Deputy Mayor Kuzmanić presenting the tender in August (Photo: Grad Split)

Mayor Puljak's PR speaker replied that she has no authorized info on the topic. Deputy Mayor Kuzmanić didn't reply to two emails. The clubs' PR speaker and director have replied that they have no knowledge and referred back to the City of Split as the only official source.

So instead of news, today we have Part 2 of Burak Canboy's editorial where he answers a few questions that the initial editorial has caused and adds his opinion on the recent developments..

Here is the link to Burak Canboy's previous editorial on the topic. 

Dear Basketball Fans and readers from all around the world. Many thanks for giving me feedback, both critique and support on my first editorial regarding the sale of K.K. Split.

Yesterday, the tender to invest into K.K. Split ran out. More than 24 hours later, nobody seems to know the results. And, nobody really seems to care either as there have been no news on the topic today and social media seems to be paused. If you have read my first opinion on the topic, it shall come as no surprise why I think there is no big interest in the tender. It was just prepared way too unprofessionally. 

Like the City of Split after the tender: Roko Ukić with his hands empty and his head down. (Photo: Burak Canboy)

Let's say you want to sell your car on Njuškalo, you would wash it first, clean it on the inside, take nice pictures, write down all extras and even list the problems if you are a fair sales person. But Mayor Puljak and Deputy Mayor Kuzmanić, seem to have thought that while that is necessary for selling any car for only several thousand Euros, it would be enough to say that the city has a "historic basketball club for sale" and that investors from all over the world would run to Split in masses at the opportunity to buy a basketball club for millions of Euros, without even knowing what that would mean. No sales presentation, no numbers, no concept, no plans, no ideas. No realism. No professionalism. No offer. No surprise. 

The saddest part is that this makes the club even harder to sell now. But maybe the Dynamic Duo of Puljak and Kuzmanić were not even looking for a sale. Maybe all they wanted was to have an excuse to close the club? 

While we can all think about that, I would like to use the opportunity to address the following topics that most people didn't agree with me on or that may have been misunderstood in my initial editorial. 

The very big majority of  people thanked me and told me that I was 99-100% right. Since I believe in always striving for 100%, here are my explanations to the most asked questions and some forum questions that were forwarded to me:

1. How can the name not be worth a single Lipa? It is a great name that is globally known. It must be worth a lot of money. 

I did not write that the name is not worth anything. I wrote that the club in the current condition, is not worth anything. On the contrary, I believe that the name is still globally very well known. It is one of the club's few assets. I just believe that all the current problems and the known and unknown debts in my opinion are larger than the value of the brand. Unfortunately, as so many things with the club also the name is not really owned by the club. If you refer to just "K.K. Split", then of course, it belongs to the club. However any club can call itself something similar. K.K. Adriatic Split, K.K. Dalvin Split, etc. So any basketball club in Split is allowed to be called "K.K." and "Split". This dilutes the value of the brand for an investor. If you are referring to the name "Jugoplastika",  which is what most people abroad recall the big name as "Jugoplastika Split" it gets even more complicated because it was not the name of the club but it was the name of the sponsor (like "POP84", "Slobodna Dalmacija" and "Croatia Osiguranje" later which were also all sponsors and obviously own the rights to their own names themselves. I am not sure if K.K. Split even legally owns any rights to the name "Jugoplastika". Like so many things in Croatia, now nobody says anything when the club uses the name because currently there are only Croats involved and no money is to be made, but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody appears out of nowhere claiming to own all the rights to the name "Jugoplastika" and wants to be paid, as soon as a new investor has signed all papers, paid the money and starts to use the name. So, like I wrote, it is a tricky question how to value that, but as an investor, if in doubt, you better go with a lower valuation due to the unclear ownership situation. And now you have a combination of unknown value of a name and unknown debt situation of an organization that stays alive for many years only due to taxpayers' money spent, so that's why I say the club is currently not worth a single Lipa.

A club icon of long past, better times: Hall of Famer Toni Kukoč (left) in 2021 with Director Edo Blažević (Photo: Burak Canboy)

2. What is the value of the concession for the gym? It can surely not be zero.

I did not give a definite value regarding the concession of the gym. When reviewing the concession in 2014 it was clear that the City of Split had used it originally as another creative way to fund the club. I am not sure if the old concession has been changed or is still in place. All I recall about that was that the value of the concession was somehow estimated by some expert and the city used that value as some basis for the amount of shares it received from the club. I also remember that the value stated in the expertise seemed ridiculously high to me and I thought that the city may have used this method of funding to control all other shareholders. Anyways, today I cannot say anything about that and that's why I wrote that the value depends on the condition of the hall (which is terrible), the contracts with tenants (which are probably old and not very high) and which obligations the city will have in the future in regards to renovations and maintenance. As you see, we always come back to how the city is funding the club and how much it will do so in the future. If the gym was owned by the club, then you could say that it is an asset for which you can have an appraisal issued and I might even come to the conclusion that the value of the club is more than zero, if the debts are not too high. Since the club does not own the gym and since the details of the concession are not disclosed, I prefer to stay  conservative on any value it may have. 

Deputy Mayor Kuzmanić (center) together with his biggest problems. (Photo: PR; KK Split)

3. K.K. Split is now playing in ABA League and playing for titles in Croatia, how can the club be worth less than in 2014?

Well, first of all, along with playing in ABA League and playing for titles in Croatia, the debts of the clubs are growing and with that the dependency for the city to pay for cost. Despite the additional TV airtime, there is no trikot or naming sponsor to cover the extra costs. Also, the administration in 2014 was actually a good situation for an investor. It was 100% clear what the debts are, who will get how much and when. Back then, due-diligence was easily performed within just a few days because director Metod Šolto had all books and all numbers openly lying on his table every day. All numbers and payments were verified/controlled by the administration rules. I would not at all be surprised if today not even the supervisory board of the club knows the exact financial situation of the club. So today there is a much higher risk for potential investors to be confronted with people claiming to have the rights to be paid by the club for something. They may even have the right to come forward years from now.

Back in 2014, as insolvency was obvious, the value of the club was already zero and the only reason why the club was not dissolved was because the city agreed to cover the outstanding debts and pay for the club's future activities. Just like today, if the city is not covering part debts and warrants for future expenses, the value of the organization is again zero. For these reasons I think that today, the club is also not worth more than nothing.

Dominik Mavra: Few months ago succesfull with KK Zadar at Gripe, what teammates will he have in Split this season? (Photo: Burak Canboy)

4. Why should Kuzmanić be lying about other potential investors?

How do I say that Kuzmanić is lying about potential other investors? How should I even know that? All I am saying and thinking is that the city (that means him especially because he is the man in charge) is not acting professionally in this matter. If you have no own strategy for the club, if you cannot present the assets and problems of the club honestly and openly, if you only give an interested party 3 weeks for due-diligence for such a complex problem, then this is not something that I personally find professional business behavior. Since we are in Croatia and since Croatian politics have a history of not acting transparently, it is only safe to assume that the only alternative to this unprofessional behavior may be that something bigger is being dealt with in the background and that K.K. Split may be being used as part of such a background deal. I hope both for the club and the city that some big investor will come who believes 100% in this club and has no other intentions than to renovate this club, but how likely is that right now after what is being said by Kuzmanić?

Quite honestly, the request of 1 EUR pre-emptive rights for the city is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my 30 years of business life. How can anyone believe that an external investor will come, spend time, effort, connections and a lot of money to make this club valuable again, if the city has a right to say: "Thank you very much for taking this big problem we have had, a club that was not worth anything and has only cost us money, thank you for taking this problem from our hands. Thank you for making K.K. Split a wonderful, successful and profitable club again. Now here is 1 EUR, so you can go home again with nothing!" Really???? This also makes the mayor (who I respect btw), appear unprofessional, just by standing next to him without objections while this is presented.

How can a club with tradition but no future become a club of the future with a long tradition? (Photo: Burak Canboy)

5. Is it true that back in 2014 you only wanted to realize a real estate project on Gripe but were not allowed to. Is that why the deal didn't work out? Are you out for some kind of revenge because you still want to, but don't have enough money to buy the club now.

I have never made a secret about having been disappointed that the deal didn't work out in 2014. If I remember correctly, my answer to the first question at my press conference in Hotel Park was something like "I would be lying if I said that I am not disappointed." 

Back then unfortunately it only became clear to us very late in the process that the Baldasar administration was only trying to find an investor to realize a huge real estate project on Gripe. We found out only very late that the main goal was that an investor should take the burden of K.K. Split in return for realizing an approximated 40-100 million Euro project. I had no interest to be involved in such a deal and we as a group who had prepared our offer needed to stop our efforts because we were all 100% about basketball and nothing else. So, I think it is unfair to say I am out for revenge. I wish the club and the people of Split nothing but the best. It is just my personal belief that things need to be named as they are. I don't think that Puljak's and Kuzmanić's latest stunt will help the club but are actually making things worse.

When it comes to my financial situation, it is safe to say that I never had enough money in my life to invest it into basketball, but it has never stopped me from doing it anyways :-)

Let's hope again that the people in charge in Split will one day smarten up and understand that even the famous Aladdin had to first start rubbing the lamp before expressing his wish very clearly and precisely and he still had to do that work even though he already had the unlimited cosmic magical powers of the genie on his side. For all normal people without three magic wishes, it means that if you want to find an investor for the club, you will need to work hard like everybody else to create something valuable first, then you can think about achieving a return from selling it. Or maybe it is better that you just throw the magical lamp away and maybe someday, somebody will find it and decide to rub it really well, until it's magic reappears. 

For further reading: 

i. A sample mission & vision for the club was already gifted to the club and the city in 2014. Look for yourself how much of it has been adopted and how much more needs to be done before you can call the club valuable: KK Split Mission & Vision 2014

ii. Hrvoje Frančeski's thoughts on Croatian Basketball "We Have Nothing". It is written in Croatian but worth translating, if needed

The views of the author are not necessarily the views of TCN.

Why it is not worth anything. Ništa. Not a single Lipa! (EDITORIAL)

Split, 23.08.2022 - The City of Split is again trying to find an investor for the Basketball Club KK Split. This time it is official. Read the invitation to tender here.

In the tender, the City of Split states the value of the shares which it offers for sale at 4'000'000 EUR, that's the shares it wants to sell, so they value the club at around 6 Million Euro, which is the amount at which all issued shares were handed out.

Our contributor Burak Canboy had considered to invest into the organization in 2013/2014 and has been covering the club for TCN during the last two seasons. 

Here is his personal opinion on the value of the club and the politics going on right now.

EDITORIAL:

Let me say it out loud first. Those who don't want to listen to arguments may call me a traitor, a rich foreigner who doesn't understand Croatia, they may want me banished or may crucify me at the next game and then those who actually like to deal with the matter will hopefully read this opinion. In the current state, KK Split is not worth anything. Ništa. Not a single Lipa!

Now it is out. So, why do I believe the team that dominated the late eighties and early nineties, the big Jugoplastika Split that was officially named the best European club of the 20st century by FIBA is currently not worth anything? The club that resides at Gripe, a gym that was built mostly by the hands of its members. In a mecca of basketball that hosts the biggest trophies and most valuable jerseys in the "yellow salon". The club that is quite correctly called one of the most successful clubs in the history of European basketball. Winning three consecutive EuroLeague titles, two Korač Cups plus 3 Triple Crowns, 6 Yugoslav Championships, 5 Yugoslav Cups, 5 Croatian Cups and 1 Croatian Championship. A club that competes in the prestigious ABA League and plays for championships in the Croatian National League. A club that created greats like Branko Radović, Ratomir Tvrdić, Toni Kukoč, Dino Rađa, Žan Tabak, Petar Skansi, Velimir Perasović (please forgive me that I did not list everyone, it is a very long list). 

Mayor Puljak and Deputy Kuzmanić presenting their ideas for KK Split (Photo: Grad Split)

Well, in the world of business there is a word for value that cannot be measured by the sum of its assets. It is called "goodwill" or "value of intangible assets". When you look at the world's largest companies with high goodwill, Coca Cola used to be the example in the nineties, today it is companies like Microsoft and Amazon that mainly consist of value which stock markets assess because people are willing to pay more per share than the sum of assets listed in their balance sheets, divided by the amount of stocks issued. Where there is goodwill there is also the opposite. Companies worth less than their sum of assets. You hear stories of companies given away for a dollar sometimes but more often than not, those companies are not even worth the dollar. They disappear more or less silently because nobody wants to risk renovating, restructuring and rebuilding such companies. 

Now that I have given a short excursion to the business world in the US, let's get back to Europe, the Balkans (or as some people like to call it Southeast Europe nowadays), Croatia, Dalmatia, Split, Gripe, KK Split. There is a reason why I am listing them in this order. but all of these have a reason why the club is not worth anything. Ništa. Not a single Lipa!

European Union:

Let's start with Europe. During the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, which became a european financial crisis in the years after and lead to Greece being put under financial supervision (which just ended a few days ago btw.), some people started to wonder how football clubs and to some extent also basketball clubs in Greece could have such huge budgets if the country is basically bankrupt. Clubs like Panathinaikos, AEK, Olympiakos and PAOK were very successful in Europe and globally known to be paying very good salaries, frequently bringing in players from the NBA or stopping players from going there.

This was not just an exclusively Greek behavior, but also quite normal in Italy, France and Spain and obviously also in most other european countries, but they are not so well known for their well paying leagues. The spotlight was just shining brightest onto Greece, while Europe wanted to stop waste of taxpayers' money. 

CEDEVITA: Money goes to Slovenia now (Photo: Burak Canboy)

The clubs and local governments had become so intertwined that big parts of the clubs' budgets consisted of money being transferred from the governments to the clubs declared as "sports education", "funds for sports equipment ", "youth support", "tourism support", "business growth support", "gym maintenance " and many other creative ways. While all these can be very much in the interest of the public and are surely worth spending public money for, in most cases that money was not used for that purpose, but for the running expenses of an internationally competing professional team. This practice has been deemed illegal by the European Union and is considered a "preferred subsidizing of business". Now, the City of Split has been very creative as well in the past years, but it is quite obvious that continued participation in the ABA League and playing for championships in the croatian league would not have been possible if all salaries, participation costs and travel expenses of the professional team had had to be paid for by income from TV broadcasting rights, ticket sales, sponsors and other revenues such as sale of merchandise. During the last years the club had over and over accumulated losses that the city had to cover by increasing the capital of the club. Now, creative as it may be, in the end it is the exact behavior that the EU wanted to stop. Now, if the club did not have money coming from the city, it would be bankrupt. Worth nothing. Ništa. Not a single Lipa.

Balkans/Southeast Europe:

Yugoslavia the former world force in basketball is shattered. Romania, Bulgaria, Albania were never really big. Bosnia & Hercegovina 45th in the world, Kosovo 71st and North Macedonia 52nd play no large role, Croatia as described later is in a free fall. Serbia (4th), managed to re-establish some of the former glory, Montenegro is a recent positive surprise (25th) and Slovenia is a rising star (3rd), but in general basketball business at successful clubs is mostly run by dubious owners/presidents or player agencies often enough operating in dark grey areas of the law and federation regulations (surely nobody wants to see KK Split becoming a front for some completely illegal business). In countries that are non-EU, strong government funding is still predominant. And if you watched the finals of this year's ABA League between Partizan and Red Star you got to see how some fans like to use the game to show how ugly and disgraceful sports can be.

Extra value for the club: Ništa. Not a single Lipa. 

Croatia:

The national team could not even pass a group with Finland (35th in the world) and needed 2 overtimes to barely beat Sweden once (51st in the world !), and now rightfully has to play in a group with Switzerland (world's 60th) and Austria (61st) to re-capture just the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup in 2025.

Zadar and CIBONA on the floor? (Photo: Burak Canboy)

KK Split's competitors in the national league

- CEDEVITA, has seen the big money move to Slovenia.

- CIBONA is clinically dead, pretty much bankrupt, kept alive with tax payers' money and/or lack of transparency. 

- KK Zadar is clinically dead, kept alive with tax payers' money and/or lack of transparency. 

Most other clubs in the croatian league are - yes you guessed it right - clinically dead, kept alive with tax payers' money and/or lack of transparency. 

Apart from that, favoritism amongst coaches, referees and other officials more often than not stand in the way of effectively developing national talents. 

Extra value for the club: Ništa. Not a single Lipa. 

Dalmatia:

Turizam, Turizam i Turizam. Do I need to say more?

Croatian Title Trophies. Too far to reach? (Photo: Burak Canboy)

Dalmatia lacks large global or at least international companies that can use a basketball team as their "travelling signpost". When you look for big clubs in Europe you will find Efes, Beko, Armani Exchange, ALBA as sponsors carrying weight for successful clubs or you find teams like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich profiting from the groundwork, their football clubs have done in finding sponsors and building a name for the organization.

Lack of potential large sponsors, preoccupation with a single economy. Extra value for the club: Ništa. Not a single Lipa. 

Split: Politics and Hajduk

The City of Split created an unprofessional presentation for the tender (no assets listed, very short time given for due-diligence, no contractual obligations listed, no own concept or ideas presented). So either some back-room deal is already made or the responsible people think they can find an idiot who is willing to buy the pig in a poke, or as they say elsewhere, buy the cat in a sack.

Then you should not forget that there is already a major power house in town. Football is King and in Split the King is called Hajduk. Instead of trying to benefit from the big brother, a separation is being forced and Torcida named unwanted guests on Gripe.

Lack of potential large sponsors, presence of an overwhelming football power means a lack of positive future paired with involvement of politicians in a business. Extra value for the club: Ništa. Not a single Lipa. (For the involvement of politicians this number should be very large. But negative!)

Efforts in Vain on Gripe? (Photo: Burak Canboy)

Gripe:

Despite wonderful gyms being available in the city like the two larger gyms on Gripe, the small court under Spaladium Arena, the gym at the Pool on Poljud, Spaladium Arena and probably others I don't even know, KK Split continues to practice at Gripe. The home court advantage is canceled out by the limited usability of the space and the poor condition of the building. It is not possible to have multiple teams practice in the gym at the same time. The space in the back of the gym that Dino Rađa helped to renovate a few years ago is good for individual training but overall the layout of the gym is miserable for a basketball club with ambitions. 

The building's energy efficiency is terrible, operating costs, high. Existing tenants have been there forever and are probably paying below-market rent. 

If the city does not spend considerable money to renovate the gym and give a reasonable long term concession, the extra value for the club: Ništa. Not a single Lipa.

Unless we go back to the plans of Ivo Baldazar or Željko Kerum to sell all or part of Gripe to some real estate investment company and to have them take care of the club in return. But still the value of the club remains: Ništa. Not a single Lipa.

Yellow Salon:

This is a cultural item. It cannot be transferred to a new owner. It has value as a museum. It has value for the city, for the citizens, for the players, for the employees of the club. It should be moved to a place where everyone has access to it. It cannot and should not be transferred to an investor because Cups and Medals cannot be bought.

Value for an investor: Nothing. Ništa. Not a single Lipa.

K.K. Split:

The club has a very long history of not being able to operate profitably. The last administration was not long ago and not much seems to have changed since then when it comes to control, supervision and direction. A long history of mismanagement and even what may be called accepted corruption and embezzlement when it comes to how talented players were treated. Surely Dragan Bender's and Ante Žižić's move to Maccabi with Nikola Vujčić were not "kosher" but nobody was interested in suing for damages. While thinking about things that went missing: the whereabouts of the Korač Cup that disappeared from the Žuti Salon is still not known. Is it?

Shannon Shorter praying for help (Photo: Burak Canboy)

K.K. Mislav a small club without a gym in Podstrana just had the second player go abroad (Tomislav Buljan just moved from Zadar to Spain after Stipe Jelić had already left for Italy in 2019). How many talented players has K.K. Split produced that went abroad. Let's say there are more than Perković and Perasović, but how much money has been paid to the club for players leaving during the last 20 years? 

How many young players in the current roster have long term contracts that may lead to income from a sale at some point in the future?

Sorry to say, but the only value in the club is the right to play in ABA League and the croatian first league. But again, what is that worth without the city's subsidies?

Yes. Nothing. Ništa. Not a single Lipa.

Opportunities:

Now, when could an investment into the club make sense? When the city and all people involved understand that the value of shares is nothing. Ništa. Not a single Lipa.

Once that is understood, the company can process the opposite of a recapitalization, a capital reduction. When all existing shareholders have their shares reduced to a value of close to zero or zero, and all existing debts have been cleared, then you can start a fair partnership by raising new money. If the city then wishes to have a 25%+1 controlling share, it will need to invest at the according rate, as a new investor would. Twice as much, if the city of Split wishes to keep 50% of shares.

A sample mission & vision for the club was already gifted to the club and the city in 2014. Look for yourself how much of it has been adopted and how much more needs to be done before you can call the club valuable: KK Split Mission & Vision 2014

"Grado" and his boat "Žuta ljubav"

To give a more local comparison of how the City of Split calculates the value of the club, I will explain by using the example of a boat and a fisherman. Now, at some point in the past, someone sold a boat named "Žuta ljubav" to a local fisherman who wanted to take tourists to beautiful bays that you could only reach by boat. The fisherman was called Grado because he could exactly tell the temperature to the tenth of a degree. The boat was old but it was a wonderful boat. It used to be quite a beauty back in the days. The design had aged well and it was still floating. It could sail near the coast and even a little further out but no longer in blue waters as it once did. "Žuta ljubav" needed a lot of crew to operate and a lot of maintenance, because former owners had taken away important parts and just replaced them with whatever they could find for cheap. Every year, the boat needed an expensive crew to operate, it needed new sails, the engine needed to be repaired, leaks needed to be filled and all moving parts needed to be serviced. The berth needed to be paid. And despite all the work time and money put in, it never looked as good as it once did and always barely stayed afloat because Grado could not afford a full renovation. Even though the boat used to drive people around and conducted business, every year the owner needed to add money from his own pocket. Sometimes more, sometime less.

Tomislav Buljan: From Podstrana to Zadar to Spain (Photo: Burak Canboy)

After years of losing money Grado became tired of taking care of "Žuta ljubav" and asked his oldest son if he wanted to have the boat. He declined, so did his second son and his youngest son. They didn't tell their father the real reason because they were afraid he may be disappointed and die from sorrow. The oldest used his family as an excuse and said that he needed to keep his stable job. The second son said he could not swim and the third wanted to become a musician. So one day Grado took his sorrow to his neighbor and friend Stino. Stino who was known to be brutally honest, gave him a glass of Orahovac and a big glass of cold water. "Enjoy the Orahovac" he said, "you will need the cold water later." "Why?" asked Grado. "Well, my dear friend. Love has made you blind. You have spent so much money on your boat during the last years, and you think it is worth a lot, because you have spent so much time and money on it. But today after almost 6 million Euros spent, it still barely floats, it still costs you a fortune to operate and maintain and even if you didn't use it, you would still need to pay for the berth. Your sons love you too much to tell you, but you managed not to sink the boat, instead you have sunk all your money. No-one will buy your boat, because it barely stays afloat and doesn't make any profit. My friend, when you open your eyes, you will understand that the value of your boat, even though it floats, is zero. Nobody who knows the slightest bit about boating would buy it. If you paid someone to take it, maybe you can get rid of it. But if you ever want to make money selling it, you need to first either spend a fortune renovating it or at least make it profitable. So profitable that you can easily pay the crew, the maintenence, the berth, everything and have money left at the end of the season so you can enjoy a long winter without having to work. Then my friend it will still be hard to sell an old boat, but at least it will be a profitable business. But now it is not worth anything. Ništa. Not a single Lipa."  Grado finally understood and when the truth arrived, it hit him like a truck, but at least he still had the small joy of a cold glass of water to look forward to.

Still don't believe me that the value of the club is nothing? Ništa? Not a single Lipa? Well, just go ahead and ask any of the employees of the club to reduce their salary by 50% and give them the rest of salary in shares. Or you could even ask Mayor Puljak and Deputy Kuzmanić who are trying to sell the shares, if they would agree to have their salaries in the next 4 years paid in shares of K.K. Split instead of money. I dare anyone to come forward and say that they would prefer to be paid in shares of KK Split than in Kuna. Guess how many would agree to that and what they would probably say: The shares are worthless, because the value of the club is nothing. Ništa. Not a single Lipa!

The views of the author are not necessarily the views of TCN.

September 14, 2021 - KK Split tops AEK for its first European victory in 17 years! A look at the Basketball Champions League qualifiers.  

At the Peristerija hall in Athens, KK Split defeated Cypriot team AEK 65:50 (13:11, 15:12, 13:16, 24:11) in the 1st match of the qualifications for the Basketball Champions League.

It was clear that Split was the better team from the first minute, and it was only a matter of time before they broke away for the lead. The last quarter was crucial when Srđan Subotić's team made it 50:39 to end all of AEK's hopes. The best scorer for Split was Karlo Žganec with 15 points, Toni Perković added 13, and it is necessary to emphasize the minutes of captain Mateo Kedžo. 

"We are happy to win, especially since we went to Europe after so many years. It was obvious that nervousness was present and that the match's importance was felt, although we did not have any external pressure. We put pressure on ourselves; we wanted to win, this means a lot to us. In the most important moments, we played as we should have," said Split coach Srđan Subotić, who won his first match on the KK Split bench.

He commented on Kedžo's game.

"Kedžo scored a few points in the critical minutes of the first half, and in the second half, he had great cooperation with Žganec. He showed that there is still "oil in the candle,"" says Subotić.

Split's opponent in the 2nd round will be the champion of Switzerland, Friborg. The match will be played on Wednesday, at 4.30 pm. The winner will advance to the decisive match for entering the Champions League.

"We will analyze this match, then additionally Friborg. We hope for a better game, and I believe that we can go further," concluded Subotić.

Split: Perković 13, Perasović, Kedžo 4, Runjić 4, Žganec 15, Vuko 7, Čampara 9, Bajo 6, McLean 2, Barič 5.

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