2008–09 ABA NLB League

The ABA NLB League 2008–09 season was the 8th season of the Liga ABA. This season saw a return to the competition system in use in 2003–04, when the Final Four Tournament was played at the end of the regular season.

2008–09 NLB League season
LeagueLiga ABA
SportBasketball
Number of teams Serbia (5 teams)
 Croatia (4 teams)
 Slovenia (3 teams)
 Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 team)
 Montenegro (1 team)
Regular season
Season championsSerbia Partizan
Season MVPCroatia Ante Tomić (Zagreb)
Top scorerSerbia Dragan Labović (FMP Železnik) (17.96 ppg)
Final four
ChampionsSerbia Partizan
NLB League seasons

A total of 14 teams from Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia participated in the NLB League season: Union Olimpija, Helios, Krka, Cibona, Zagreb, Zadar, Split, Bosna, Crvena zvezda, Partizan, FMP Železnik, Hemofarm, Vojvodina, Budućnost.

There were 26 round played in the regular part of the season. The best four teams later qualified for the Final Four Tournament, which was played in Belgrade between April 16 and April 18 (Partizan, Cibona, Hemofarm, Crvena zvezda).

Partizan became the 2009 League Champion.

Team information

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Venues and locations

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Country Teams Team City Venue (Capacity)
  Serbia 5
Partizan Belgrade Pionir Hall (8,150)
Hemofarm STADA Vršac Millennium Center (5,000)
Crvena zvezda Belgrade Pionir Hall (8,150)
FMP Železnik Belgrade Železnik Hall (3,000)
Vojvodina Srbijagas Novi Sad SPC Vojvodina (8000)
  Croatia 4
Cibona Zagreb Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall (5,400)
Zadar Zadar Krešimir Ćosić Hall (9,200)
Zagreb CO Zagreb Trnsko (2,000)
Split CO Split Arena Gripe (6,000)
  Slovenia 3
Union Olimpija Ljubljana Hala Tivoli (6,000)
Helios Domžale Dvorana Komunalnega centra (2,180)
Krka Novo Mesto Leon Štukelj Hall (2,000)
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
Bosna ASA BHT Sarajevo Dvorana Mirza Delibašić (6,500)
  Montenegro 1
Budućnost Podgorica Morača Sports Center (4,570)

Regular season

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League table

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Incident

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On Tuesday, 20 January 2009 around 10:40pm at the Split Airport, Red Star Belgrade players were attacked by a group of 20 Croatian hooligans, members of Torcida Split hooligan firm, and supporters of KK Split.[1] The attack occurred inside the airport building as the players and club staff were checking-in for the charter flight back to Belgrade after beating KK Split 62-67 earlier that night in Gripe Hall. The hooligans entered the airport building, stormed the main hall, and attacked the Red Star group with sticks, glass bottles, and rocks, before escaping out of the building using another entrance.[2] The attack did not appear to be organized.[3]

No serious injuries were reported except for Red Star's American shooting guard Andre Owens who got a laceration on his knee[4] as he jumped over the check-in counter to avoid the charging hooligans.[5]

In a press release prompted by the incident, KK Split's management distanced themselves form the behaviour of their fans, expressing regret over the incident.[6] Club president Dino Rađa also publicly apologized.[7]

Stats Leaders

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Points

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Rank Name Team Points Games PPG
1.   Dragan Labović FMP Železnik 467 26 17,96
2.   Eddie Shannon Split 406 26 15,62
3.   Nicholas Jacobson Helios 390 25 15,60
4.   Richard Shields Krka 388 25 15,52
5.   Ante Tomić Zagreb 371 24 15,46

Rebounds

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Rank Name Team Rebounds Games RPG
1.   Ante Tomić Zagreb 206 24 8,58
2.   Todor Gečevski Zadar 204 26 7,85
3.   Novica Veličković Partizan 180 26 6,92
4.   Dejan Ivanov Zadar 151 22 6,86
5.   Predrag Samardžiski FMP Železnik 178 26 6,85

Assists

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Rank Name Team Assists Games APG
1.   Rok Stipčević Zadar 117 26 4,50
2.   Dušan Djordjević Bosna 116 26 4,46
3.   Eddie Shannon Split 111 26 4,27
4.   Jure Močnik Helios 98 26 3,77
5.   Filip Čović FMP Železnik 73 21 3,48

Ranking MVP

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Rank Name Team Efficiency Games Average
1.   Ante Tomić Zagreb 538 24 22,42
2.   Dragan Labović FMP 508 26 19,54
3.   Todor Gečevski Zadar 484 26 18,62
4.   Novica Veličković Partizan 457 26 17,58
5.   Eddie Shannon Split 439 26 16,88

MVP Round by Round

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Round Player Team Efficiency
1   Ante Tomić Zagreb 36
2   Vladan Vukosavljević Hemofarm 39
3   Miroslav Raduljica FMP 37
4   Dejan Borovnjak Vojvodina 29
5   Vladimir Golubović Olimpija 35
6   Ante Tomić (2) Zagreb 35
7   Ante Tomić (3) Zagreb 32
8   Dejan Borovnjak(2) Vojvodina 34
9   Antonio Grant Split 31
10   Ante Tomić (4) Zagreb 32
11   Richard Shields Krka 32
12   Marko Kešelj Crvena zvezda 33
13   Dragan Labović FMP 32
14   Novica Veličković Partizan 40
15   Rok Stipčević Zadar 35
16   Dragan Labović (2) FMP 30
17   Alan Anderson Cibona 38
18   Nicholas Jacobson Helios 37
19   Lorinza Harrington Olimpija 34
20   Eddie Shannon Split 34
21   Ante Tomić (5) Zagreb 32
22   Stefan Marković Hemofarm 33
23   Charron Fisher Vojvodina 31
24   Charron Fisher (2) Vojvodina 37
25   Jovo Stanojević Vojvodina 36
26   Dragan Labović (3) FMP 26
27   Alan Anderson (2) Cibona 27
28   Novica Veličković (2) Partizan 22

Source: NLB League

Final four

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Matches played in, Belgrade, Serbia

Semifinals
April 16
Final
April 18
      
1 Partizan 64
4 Crvena zvezda 58
1 Partizan 63
2 Cibona 49
2 Cibona 77
3 Hemofarm STADA 65

Semifinals

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Partizan vs. Crvena zvezda

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April 16
20:45 CET
Partizan   64–58   Crvena zvezda
Scoring by quarter: 13-11, 18-12, 15-15, 18-20
Pts: Tepić 14
Rebs: Veličković, Vesely, Vraneš 7
Asts: Tepić 4
Pts: Kikanović 15
Rebs: Roberts 8
Asts: Marković 4
Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
Attendance: 10,750
Referees: Muhvić (CRO), Jovčić (SRB), Herceg (CRO)

Cibona vs. Hemofarm STADA

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April 16
18:15 CET
Cibona   77–65   Hemofarm STADA
Scoring by quarter: 24-11, 20-21, 21-17, 12-16
Pts: Anderson 24
Rebs: Homan 8
Asts: Anderson 4
Pts: Vukosavljević 18
Rebs: Božović 6
Asts: Pavković 4
Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
Attendance: 3,500
Referees: Pukl (SLO), Boltauzer (SLO), Javor (SLO)

Final

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April 18
20:45 CET
Partizan   63–49   Cibona
Scoring by quarter: 17-9, 21-18, 9-16, 16-6
Pts: Veličković, 17
Rebs: Veličković 8
Asts: Tepić 5
Pts: Anderson 22
Rebs: Calloway 7
Asts: Anderson 4
Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
Attendance: 13,328
Referees: Pukl (SLO), Šutulović (MNE), Kolar (SLO)


2008–09 ABA NLB League Champions

 
Partizan
3rd Title

References

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  1. ^ "Torcida" napala Zvezdine košarkaše;B92, 20 January 2009
  2. ^ Video of the attack
  3. ^ Napad nije organizovan;Večernje novosti, 21 January 2009
  4. ^ „Torcida“ napala košarkaše Zvezde;Blic, 21 January 2009
  5. ^ Huligani napali crveno-bele u Splitu!;mondo.rs, 21 January 2009
  6. ^ Split: Napadnuti Zvezdini košarkaši;B92, 21 January 2009
  7. ^ Dino Rađa i KK Split: Izvinjavamo se;mondo.rs, 21 January 2009