KK Zlatorog Laško | |||
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Leagues | Slovenian League | ||
Founded | 1969 (as KK Laško) |
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Arena | Tri Lilije Hall | ||
Capacity | 2,500 | ||
Location | Laško, Slovenia | ||
Team colors | White, Green |
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Main sponsor | Laško Brewery | ||
President | Pavel Teršek | ||
Head coach | Aleš Pipan | ||
Championships | 1 Slovenian Cup | ||
Website | Official website | ||
Uniforms | |||
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Košarkarski Klub Zlatorog Laško (English: Zlatorog Laško Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Zlatorog or simply Zlatorog, is a Slovenian professional basketball club, which is based in Laško.
The club was established in 1969. During the initial years the club was competing under the name KK Laško. In 1972 they changed to KK Zlatorog Laško. In 1994, the club got name KK Pivovarna Laško. A year before that, the town Laško started the construction of a new modern sports hall which prompted rapid expansion of basketball in the town. The management also renewed the playing potential of the club, and in the 1995–96 season, after two years of competing in the 1B Division, the club qualified to the Premier A Slovenian League. Aleš Pipan replaced the former coach Andrej Žagar, and on the other hand, the players headed by Matjaž Tovornik were joined by new reinforcements, among them Mileta Lisica.
The very first season in the league was concluded in third place, and the club qualified for the European Cup for the next season. At the beginning of the season the club acquired Ervin Dragšič and Miljan Goljović.
In the 1997–98 season, the club repeated its ranking in the National Championship, and qualified in the National Cup Finals which was lost against Olimpija. In the European Cup Competition, the club competed in the group with Fenerbahçe Ülker, Le Mans, ASK Riga, Idea Śląsk Wrocław and ICEC, and finished the qualification games in the 1/16 finals, when the Team was defeated by Tofaş S.K..
The 1998–99 season was one of the most successful in the club's history. On the domestic scene, the club completely matched the potential of the leading domestic club who was already well established in the European competitions, and qualified for both the Playoff and the Cup finals. After the victory over AEK Athens, the club defeated the Polish champions Śląsk Wrocław and the French club Cholet Basket. This took them to the quarter finals of the Saporta Cup, where they had to yield to Aris.