Košarkaški klub Metalac ( sr-cyr, Кошаркашки клуб Металац), commonly referred to as KK Metalac, is a men's professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises ...
based in
Valjevo
Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the administrative area of Valjevo had 90,312 inhabitants, 59,073 of whom were urban dwell ...
,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
. They are currently competing in the
Basketball League of Serbia
The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federatio ...
.
History
Metalac was established on 24 March 1948 as KK Budućnost Valjevo. Six days later, the club played its first official game in
Čačak
Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley within the geographical region of Šumadija. , the city proper has 73,331 inhabitants, wh ...
against
Borac and lost 69:19. In a relatively short period of time, they managed to qualify for a higher level of competition, entering the South Group of a then minor Serbian League under the new name Metalac in 1954. Due to financial problems in 1960, the club had to leave all competitions and restart from scratch again a year after.
In 1973 Metalac managed to qualify for the
First Yugoslav Federal League by beating
Mladost Zemun in the last round of the competition, gaining a decisive advantage over
Vojvodina Novi Sad
Sportsko društvo Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Спортско друштво Војводина, lit=Vojvodina Sports Society), commonly abbreviated as SD Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, СД Војводина, link=no), formed in 1914, is a multi-sport club ...
. In the last round Luka Vidacic from Herceg-Novi scored a club record of 57 points. Metalac spent six consecutive seasons in the First League and managed to beat at least once all the big clubs of Yugoslav basketball in that period. They played their last game in Yugoslav First Federal League on 31 March 1979 against
Jugoplastika in
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertai ...
.
During the last couple of years, professional basketball in Valjevo is on the rise again. Metalac qualified for the top level of club competition in Serbia in 2007–08 and since then managed to progress to the
Basketball League of Serbia
The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federatio ...
Superleague phase five times. They have constantly been a serious contender for a spot in the
Adriatic League
The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mac ...
over the past few seasons and finally became part of it in 2014–15 after
Radnički Kragujevac opted out because of financial instability.
The club was a founding member of the
Adriatic Basketball Association
Adriatic Basketball Association – ABA League, G.P., commonly referred to as the ABA League JTD, is a Croatian company based in Zagreb. It is the general partnership for organizing sports competitions. The company has been running the Adriatic L ...
in 2015. In December 2020, the club's
shares were transferred to
FMP.
Sponsorship naming
The club has had several denominations through the years due to its sponsorship:
* Metalac Family One: 1992–1993
* Big Enex Metalac: 1993–1995
* Metalac Koteks: 2012–2013
* Metalac Farmakom: 2013–2016
Players
Current roster
Head coaches
* Čedomir Vidaković
(1954–1955)
*
Luka Stančić
Luka Stančić ( sr-cyr, Лука Станчић; 1939 – 2 January 1990) was a Serbian professional basketball coach and player who spent entire playing career and the most of his coaching career with his hometown team Metalac. He's known for ...
(1960–1974)
*
Dragoljub Pljakić (1976–1977)
*
Luka Stančić
Luka Stančić ( sr-cyr, Лука Станчић; 1939 – 2 January 1990) was a Serbian professional basketball coach and player who spent entire playing career and the most of his coaching career with his hometown team Metalac. He's known for ...
(1980–1985)
* Zoran Kovačević
(1985–1987)
*
Luka Stančić
Luka Stančić ( sr-cyr, Лука Станчић; 1939 – 2 January 1990) was a Serbian professional basketball coach and player who spent entire playing career and the most of his coaching career with his hometown team Metalac. He's known for ...
(1987–1988)
*
Luka Stančić
Luka Stančić ( sr-cyr, Лука Станчић; 1939 – 2 January 1990) was a Serbian professional basketball coach and player who spent entire playing career and the most of his coaching career with his hometown team Metalac. He's known for ...
(1989–1990)
*
Mihailo Poček (1990–1992)
* Dragomir Nikitović
(1992)
* Zoran Kovačević
(1992–1993)
* Vojislav Kecojević
(1993–1995)
* Dragan Simeunović
(2005–2008)
*
Vlade Đurović
Vlade Đurović ( sr-cyr, Владе Ђуровић; born 16 May 1948) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player.
Early life
Born in 1948 to Bosnian Serb parents Danilo Đurović from Sokolac and Mileva Cerović from Rogatica ...
(2008–2009)
* Aleksandar Icić
(2009)
*
Milovan Stepandić (2009–2010)
*
Velimir Gašić (2010)
*
Milovan Stepandić (2010–2011)
*
Boško Đokić (2011–2012)
*
Dragan Nikolić
Dragoslav "Dragan" Nikolić ( sr-cyr, Драгослав Драган Николић, ; 20 August 1943 – 11 March 2016) was a Yugoslav and later, Serbian actor.
Nikolić studied at Dramatic Arts Academy in Belgrade. In 1967 he starred in the ...
(2012–2013)
*
Milovan Stepandić (2013)
*
Siniša Matić (2013–2014)
*
Vladimir Đokić (2014–2016)
*
Mihailo Poček (2016–2019)
*
Vladimir Đokić (2019–2021)
*
Branislav Ratkovica
Branislav Ratkovica ( sr-cyr, Бранислав Ратковица; born 27 July 1985) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for Metalac of the Basketball League of Serbia.
Professiona ...
(2021–present)
Notable players
*
Stefan Birčević
Stefan Birčević ( sr, Стефан Бирчевић, born December 13, 1989) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Cluj of the Romanian Liga Națională. He also represents the Serbian national basketball team. Standing at , he plays ...
*
Petar Božić
*
Vukašin Aleksić
*
Zlatko Bolić
Zlatko Bolić ( Serbian Cyrillic: Златко Болић; born February 6, 1974) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player. He currently serves as the general secretary of the Basketball Federation of Serbia.
He was one of ...
*
Duško Bunić
*
Marko Čakarević
*
Vladimir Đokić
*
Mile Ilić
*
Marko Ljubičić
*
Aleksandar Mitrović
Aleksandar Mitrović ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Митровић, (); born 16 September 1994) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Fulham F.C., Fulham a ...
*
Petar Popović
*
Stefan Sinovec
*
Kimani Ffriend
Kimani Ffriend (born 29 July 1977) is Jamaican former professional basketball player. He played at the center position.
College career
Ffriend played NCAA college basketball with the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1999 to 2001. Prior that, Ffriend ...
*
Marko Dujković
*
Bojan Bakić
Bojan Bakić (Serbian Cyrillic: Бојан Бакић; born January 8, 1983) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for Barsy Atyrau of the Kazakhstan Basketball Championship.
Professional career
The Montenegrin guard started his profe ...
*
Vladimir Dašić
Vladimir Dašić (, ; born May 13, 1988) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for KK Danilovgrad of the Montenegrin League. He is 6'10" (2.08 m) in height and he plays as both a small forward and a power forward.
Professional career
D ...
*
Ivan Maraš
*
Slavko Vraneš
*
Reggie Freeman
*
Ashton Mitchell
*
Renaldo Woolridge
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metalac Valjevo
Metalac Valjevo
Sport in Valjevo
Basketball teams in Yugoslavia
Basketball teams established in 1948