Predrag Benaček (born 29 March 1959) is a Bosnian 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 ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player who is the current head coach for Olomoucko of the Czech National League.

Playing career

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

, Benaček played 20 seasons in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

between 1975 and 1996. During his playing days, he played for Bosna,

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

, Maribor, and Pardubice. He retired as a player with Pardubice in 1996.

National team career

Benaček was a member of the Yugoslavia Juniors team that won the bronze medal at the 1978 European Championship for Juniors held in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Over six tournament games, he averaged 14.9 points per game. Benaček was a member of the Yugoslavia national team, alongside

Krešimir Ćosić Krešimir "Krešo" Ćosić (; 26 November 1948 – 25 May 1995) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian professional basketball player and coach. He was a collegiate All-American at Brigham Young University. He revolutionized basketball in Yugoslavia and w ...

Dragan Kićanović Dragan Kićanović ( sr, Драган Кићановић; born 17 August 1953) is a Serbian and Yugoslav retired professional basketball player. A 1.92m (6 ft 3 in) tall shooting guard, Kićanović played in the 1970s and 1980s, and is cons ...

Dražen Dalipagić Dražen "Praja" Dalipagić (; born 27 November 1951) is a Serbian former professional basketball player and head coach. He was selected the best athlete of Yugoslavia in the year 1978, and is one of the most decorated athletes in Yugoslavian his ...

and

Mirza Delibašić Mirza Delibašić (9 January 1954 – 8 December 2001) was a Bosnian professional basketball player and coach. Delibašić was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. He was enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2008, he w ...

, that won the silver medal at the

EuroBasket 1981 The 1981 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1981, was the 22nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Czechoslovakia and took place from 26 May to 5 June 1981 ...

held in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Over six tournament games, he averaged four points per game.

Coaching career

After retirement in 1996, Benaček joined the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

of Pardubice. In 1998, he became an assistant coach of Pardubice. In 1999, he was named an assistant coach for Slovenian club Helios Domžale. In 2001, he was hired as the new head coach for Hopsi Polzela. In 2002, Benaček joined the

ČEZ Nymburk Basketball Nymburk, also known as ERA Nymburk due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in the town of Nymburk. The club plays in the top-tier level professional Czech National League (NBL). Nymburk regularly pl ...

staff as an assistant coach. In 2003, he became the head coach of

Prostějov Prostějov (; german: Proßnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is known for its fashion industry. The historical city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural ...

. In 2004, he was named the head coach for Apollon Limassol of the Cyprus Division A. In July 2008, Benaček came back to the Czech Republic, becoming the head coach for

Kolín Kolín (; german: Kolin, Neu Kolin, Collin) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administra ...

. In June 2017, he left Kolín after nine seasons. In 2017, Benaček was hired as the new head coach for Olomoucko.

National team coaching career

In 2005, Benaček was named the head coach for the Cyprus national team. He left the national team in 2007. In 2007, Benaček became the head coach for the Czech Republic under-19 team.

Career achievements and awards

;As player: * EuroLeague champion: 1 (with Bosna: 1978–79) *

Yugoslav League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

champion: 3 (with Bosna: 1977–78, 1979–80, 1982–83) *

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

winner: 2 (with Bosna: 1977–78, 1983–84) *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

winner: 1 (with

: 1990–91) * Czech Republic Cup winner: 1 (with JIP Pardubice: 1993–94)

References

External links

Coach Profile
at

eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benacek, Predrag 1959 births Living people Basketball players from Sarajevo BK Pardubice players Bosnia and Herzegovina basketball coaches Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in Greece Bosnia and Herzegovina men's basketball players KK Bosna Royal players Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Czech descent Naturalized citizens of Greece Naturalized citizens of Slovenia Panionios B.C. players Slovenian basketball coaches Yugoslav men's basketball players KK Helios Domžale coaches