Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana showed its full potential in the second half of the last 7DAYS EuroCup season, winning eight straight games to end the regular season. In the playoffs, it advanced past Turk Telekom Ankara in the eighthfinals before surprisingly being knocked out at the quarterfinal stage by Frutti Extra Bursaspor. Ahead of the new season, and with expectations high in the Slovenian capital, here are four Cedevita games to circle in the calendar.
2022-23 Games to watch: Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Round 1: Quarterfinals rematch
Stozice Arena was packed last April for the arrival of Bursaspor in the EuroCup Quarterfinals, but it was Cedevita's fans that went home heartbroken. The home crowd celebrated euphorically as Jacob Pullen scored a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, but an official review ruled that the shot came after the final buzzer sounded, so Bursaspor prevailed 83-85. Cedevita goes into the new season with lofty ambitions and with the majority of its core from last season intact, although one player who has departed is Zach Auguste, who will be suiting up for Bursaspor in this season opener.
Round 3: Iron sharpens iron
Two of the favorites to advance from Group A meet in Round 3, as Cedevita hosts Joventut Badalona in what is an early test for both teams. Cedevita will want to get the season off to a good start, and a positive result would be a valuable confidence builder for coach Jurica Golemac's team. Both teams remain mostly unchanged from last season, when Cedevita had one of the EuroCup's best offenses and Joventut had the EuroCup's top defense. It should be a good one in the Slovenian capital.
Round 9: Annual trip to Bourg-en-Bresse
This will be the third straight season that Cedevita and Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse have faced off. Cedevita won on the road against Bourg in 2020-21, but when it travelled to play there in January 2022, it suffered its last regular-season loss. Despite a season-high 24 points from Yogi Ferrell, Cedevita scored just 69 points on that night, with veteran center Alen Omic going scoreless against his former team. Omic will surely be eager to do better this time, as Cedevita aims to record a victory in its last game of the calendar year.
Round 16: Repeating heroics against Ulm
Last season, one of Cedevita's best road wins came in a shootout at ratiopharm arena, as Cedevita beat ratiopharm Ulm 96-104. Zoran Dragic had 20 points against his former team, including back-to-back crunch-time three-pointers, while Edo Muric added 13 and Ferrell finished with 10 points and 7 assists. It was Cedevita's second straight victory during what ended up being a seven-game winning streak to end the regular season, and Coach Golemac will be hoping for a similar sort of performance when they meet again in March 2023.