Omladinski košarkaški klub Sloboda, (), commonly referred to as Sloboda Tuzla, 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

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

Tuzla Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants. Tuzla is the economic, cultural, ed ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are currently competing in the

Basketball Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Basketball Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the top–tier men's professional basketball league in Bosnia and Herzegovina for men and women, respectively. The league is operated by the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

. The club was founded in as KK Sloboda. Since 2011, the club has been competing under the legal name OKK Sloboda. The club is a part of the Sloboda multi-sports club. The Sloboda won 2

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

championships. They have played two different national league systems since 1946, including the Yugoslav Federal League system (1946–1992) and the Bosnian league system (1992 onward). They have also won 5

National Cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has ...

titles. A

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...

member

Mirza Delibašić Mirza Delibašić (9 January 1954 – 8 December 2001) was a Bosnian professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach. Delibašić was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. He was enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Famer, FIBA ...

played for the club from 1968 to 1972.

History

Background

KK Sloboda, commonly referred to as Sloboda Dita, was a men's professional

based in

, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club was formed in 1946 and played its home games at Mejdan Sports Center. The club was shut down in September 2011 due to debts of 3.5 million KM. Sloboda finished 5th in the inaugural 2001–02 Adriatic League session.

Renamed and re-organized

OKK Sloboda was founded in 2009 as a youth department of KK Sloboda. After the original club ceased operations in 2011, the new club—under the name of OKK Sloboda Tuzla (OKK Sloboda)—started to compete as they entered the A2 League (3rd-tier) for the 2011–12 season. They went on to win the 2012 A2 League championship and were subsequently promoted to the

A1 Liga The Hrvatski Telekom Premijer liga ( en, Hrvatski Telekom Premier League, ), also known as HT Premijer liga or simply Premijer liga, is the first tier level men's professional basketball league in Croatia. It began in 1991, following the breakup ...

(2nd-tier) for the 2012–13 season. Sloboda finished second in the 2012–13 season with a record of 18-4 and went on to lose in the championship-deciding game to the first seeded

OKK Spars Sarajevo Omladinski košarkaški klub Spars, commonly referred to as OKK Spars or Spars Ilidža, is a men's professional basketball club based in Ilidža, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club competes in the Basketball Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina a ...

by 10 points. In 2013, the club was promoted to the

for the 2013–14 season, returning to the top division for the first time since the 2010–11 season. For their return season to the Bosnian first league, Sloboda signed rookie head coach

Damir Mulaomerović Damir Mulaomerović (born 19 September 1974) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach for Cedevita Junior of the Croatian League. Professional career Mulaomerović started his career with S ...

. He helped lead them to a fourth-place finish and subsequently earned himself a contract extension for the 2014–15 season. In July 2019, the club got a wild card for the Second Adriatic League to play in the 2019–20 season.

Home arena

The club plays its home games at SKPC Mejdan in Tuzla. Mejdan has two halls, one small and one big, with most games being played in the bigger hall that has a seating capacity of 4,900, while the smaller one has a seating capacity of 800 for basketball matches.

Players

Current roster

Coaches

;KK Sloboda (1946–2011) *

Marijan Novović Marijan Novović ( sr-cyr, Маријан Нововић; February 10, 1947 – September 5, 2013), also known by his nickname Šilja (), was a Serbian basketball coach and player. Playing career In his playing days, he spent his career with OK ...

(1975–1977) *

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� ...

(1978–1982) *

Borislav Džaković Borislav "Bora" Džaković ( sr-cyr, Борислав Џаковић, 24 October 1947 – 28 June 2019) was a Serbian-Bosnian professional basketball coach and player. Coaching career The greatest success of Džaković was the double crown wit ...

(1984–1987) * Mihajlo Vuković (1989–1990) *

(1990–1992) *

Velimir Gašić Velimir Gašić ( sr-cyr, Велимир Гашић; born 10 May 1964) is a Serbian professional basketball coach for Sloboda Užice of the Basketball League of Serbia. Early life Gašić was born in Aleksandrovac, SR Serbia, in 1964, but only ...

(2001–2003) *

(2003–2006) * Senad Muminović (2008–2010) ;OKK Sloboda (2011–present) *

(2013–2015) *

(2016–2017) * Eldar Kavgić (2017–2018) *

Ivan Velić Ivan Velić (born 19 October 1972) is a Bosnian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Široki of the Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and ABA League Second Division. Coaching career Velić spent most o ...

(2018) * Josip Pandža (2018–2019) *

(2019–2021) * Nedim Džemić (2021–present)

Trophies

* Bosnia and Herzegovina Championship **Winner (2): 1993–94, 1995–96 * Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup **Winner (5): 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001 * Bosnian A1 League (2nd-tier) **Winner (7): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 *Bosnian A2 League (3rd-tier) **Winner (1): 2012–13^OKK ;Notes ^OKK Won by OKK Sloboda

Notable players

;KK Sloboda *

Asım Pars Asım Pars (born Asim Paščanović;Mirza Begić Mirza Begić (born 9 July 1985) is a retired Bosnian-born Slovenian professional basketball player. The Center (basketball), center, he represented the Slovenia national basketball team, Slovenian national team in the international competitions. ...

Nedim Dal Nedim Dal (born Edin Delić; on 3 May 1975) is a retired Turkish basketball player. He stands 2.14 m tall and played as a center. He holds Turkish and Bosnian citizenships and played for Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Re ...

Jasmin Hukić Jasmin Hukić (born August 15, 1979) is a Bosnian retired professional basketball player who last played for Ilirija of the Slovenian League. He also represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina national basketball team. Standing at , he plays at the ...

Zlatko Jovanović Zlatko Jovanović (born January 15, 1984) is a Bosnian professional basketball coach and former player who is the current head coach for Komárno of the Slovak League. He represented Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally because his mother is fro ...

Elmedin Kikanović Elmedin Kikanović (b. 2 September 1988) is a Bosnian professional basketball player for Al Riyadi Club Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League. He has also played for his country's national basketball team. Professional career Early career ...

Mileta Lisica Mileta Lisica ( sr-cyr, Милета Лисица; 7 October 1966 – 11 November 2020) was a Serbian-Slovenian professional basketball player. Playing career Lisica had played for the Poliester from Priboj and the KK Sloboda Tuzla, Sloboda fr ...

Damir Mršić Damir Mršić (born 25 October 1970) is a retired Bosnian professional basketball player. He also holds Turkish citizenship, under the name Demir Kaan, since 2003. He is one of Fenerbahçe's legendary club players, and was mostly known for his sup ...

* Dalibor Peršić *

Mirza Teletović Mirza Teletović (born September 18, 1985) is a Bosnian former professional basketball player who was the president of the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2018 to 2022. As a player, he spent six seasons in the National Basketb ...

References

External links

Official websiteTeam profile
at Eurobasket.com {{ABA League Basketball teams established in 2009 Sport in Tuzla Basketball teams established in 1946 Basketball teams in Bosnia and Herzegovina Basketball teams in Yugoslavia