OK Nova KBM Branik
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| Full name | Odbojkarski Klub Nova KBM Branik | ||
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| Nickname | Bankirke (The Bankers) | ||
| Founded | 1946 (as Polet) |
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| Ground | Ljudski vrt Sports Hall (Capacity: 2,100) |
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| Chairman | Robert Senica | ||
| Manager | Bruno Najdič | ||
| Captain | Aleksandra Milosavljević | ||
| League | Slovenian League | ||
| 2016–17 | 1st | ||
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| Sports departments of Branik | ||
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Football (Active) |
Football (Defunct) |
Basketball |
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| Handball |
Volleyball (Women's) |
Water polo |
Odbojkarski Klub Nova KBM Branik (English: Nova KBM Branik Volleyball Club), commonly referred to as OK Nova KBM Branik or simply Branik, is a professional women's volleyball team based in Maribor. Nova KBM Branik competes in the Slovenian League and in regional MEVZA Cup. Formed in 1946, they are the most successful Slovenian women's volleyball team, winning the Slovenian League 14 times, Slovenian Cup 16 times, and regional MEVZA Cup four times. In addition, the team have won the Yugoslav Championship four times, including the inaugural 1946 edition.
Branik's most notable international results include participation in the main phase of the CEV Women's Champions League, and reaching the final four tournament of the Women's CEV Cup.
Since 2000, the team is sponsored by the Nova Kreditna banka Maribor, a bank located in Maribor. Due to sponsorship agreement, the team is named after the bank since the 2000–01 season.
Prior the World War II, the city of Maribor was known as the "cradle" of volleyball in Yugoslavia. Volleyball in Maribor was firstly played by the gymnasts of the sport club Sokol-matica in 1924. In 1931, Maribor hosted the first national championship, where women's senior selection of Sokol-matica won the title. In the next years, the team won several more titles, including the last pre-war championship in 1945, when both the women's and men's selections won the national title. During the 1930s, the women's volleyball selection became part of the 1. Slovenski Športni Klub Maribor (English: First Slovene Sports Club Maribor), or simply 1. SSK Maribor, which is a predecessor of the Branik Sports Association, which still operates today.
After the World War II in 1945, 1. SSK Maribor and Sokol-matica merged into a new sports organization, named Fizkulturno društvo Maribor or simply FD Maribor. The organization was renamed to Fizkulturno društvo Polet on 27 September 1946. In the same year, the women's volleyball selection of the club was formed. In 1945, the inaugural edition of the Yugoslav Volleyball Championship was held. At the championship, only the national teams of Yugoslav republics participated. Slovenian team, formed mostly of Maribor-based players, won the title in women's edition. The first proper championship with clubs was held the following season in 1946, when Polet won their first Yugoslav national title. In 1947 and 1948, Polet finished as the runners-up, behind another Slovenian team Enotnost Ljubljana. The team was renamed to Branik in 1952, when the sports organization SŠD Polet and the association football team NK Branik Maribor merged into the Mariborsko športno društvo Branik (English: Maribor's sports association Branik), or simply MŠD Branik. The literal translation of the Slovene word Branik is a Bastion in English. In 1953, the team, which was a mixture of youth and experienced players, won their second national title, finishing above ŽOK Partizan. In the next two years, Branik finished in the second place, before it was relegated from the first division in 1959.
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