KK Igokea

History

Even though they have become well known to the broader basketball public in the territory of the former Yugoslavia only several years ago, when they joined the regional competition called the Adriatic League, Igokea is a club with a long-lasting tradition. Its beginnings go back into 23 July 1973, when KK Potkozarje was established in Aleksandrovac by a group of enthusiasts that set themselves the main goal to introduce basketball to local youth and teach them the basics. In the second half of the 1990s, the club was renamed to Igokea and that's when the club's main emphasis was put on its youth categories and got another dimension and adopted the highest ambitions at the senior level. Igokea's first trophy came in 2001 when the club from Aleksandrovac conquered the entire competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina and became champion. Six years later, it won its first national cup trophy. By now the club has won six championship and five cup trophies. In the 2010–11 season, Igokea participated in the ABA League for the first time and in 2013 it reached the regional league's final four tournaments, securing themselves also a spot in the Eurocup and that's when it entered the biggest international stage.

2012–13 ABA League controversy

At the beginning of the 2012–13 ABA League season, the ABA League Board announced that starting this season the only way to qualify for the European Club Competitions under ULEB, will be through Adriatic League and not the national championships of each ABA country member. ABA League Board also informed clubs and the public that the winner of the regular season will directly qualify for the Euroleague Group Phase in the 2013–14 season and that the second ABA team in Euroleague will be the Final Four winner. If the same team wins the regular season and the Final Four, then the second-placed team from the regular season will go to Euroleague. The third-placed team from the regular season would enter the Qualification for the 2013–14 Euroleague. In February 2013, when it became clear that Igokea will win the regular season, Euroleague Basketball clarified the situation of the Adriatic League spots saying the three first teams in the Final Four will qualify. Due to the different interpretations of both associations, Euroleague and Liga ABA negotiated a solution to be applied only for the 2012–13 season. Finally, both organizations agreed that if the team is in the first positions after the Regular Season meets all of the B-licence minimum requirements, will qualify to Euroleague. In this case, KK Igokea doesn't meet the required criteria, so Euroleague Basketball applied the 2012–13 Euroleague Bylaws by which the 2013 ABA Final Four champion and the runner-up will take the first two Adriatic positions in this order, while the next highest regular-season team will take the final Adriatic position.{{cite web | access-date =8 July 2013}}

2013–14 European club competitions

On 25 June 2013, Igokea's executive board announced that the club would not compete in the 2013–14 Euroleague Qualifying rounds because their home arena did not meet the standards for the Euroleague B license (mainly because of the capacity). Instead, the club competed in the 2013–14 EuroCup.

Sponsorship naming

KK Igokea has had several names through the years due to its sponsorship:

Home arena

Main article: Laktaši Sports Hall

Igokea plays its home games at the Laktaši Sports Hall (Хала спортова у Лакташима). The hall is located in Laktaši. The small hall has a seating capacity of 3,050 seats.

Players

Main article: Category:KK Igokea players

Retired numbers

Current roster

• BIH SRB Siniša Kovačević

Depth chart

Head coaches

Main article: Category:KK Igokea coaches

• FRY Jovica Antonić (2000–2001)
• BIH Drago Karalić (2001)
• SRB Dragan Kostić (2006–2007)
• SRB Željko Lukajić (2007)
• MNE Miodrag Kadija (2007)
• SRB Zoran Sretenović (2007–2008)
• BIH Drago Karalić (2008)
• SRB Predrag Badnjarević (2008)
• BIH Dragan Bajić (2008)
• BIH Drago Karalić (2009–2010)
• SRB Slobodan Klipa (2010–2011)
• BIH Dragan Bajić (2011–2013)
• BIH Milutin Latinčić (2013–2014)
• SRB Vladimir Jovanović (2014)
• SRB Željko Lukajić (2014–2015)
• BIH Dragan Bajić (2015–2018)
• BIH Žarko Milaković (2018)
• SRB Nenad Trajković (2018)
• BIH Žarko Milaković (2018)
• SRB Dragan Nikolić (2018–2019)
• SRB Aleksandar Trifunović (2019)
• BIH Dragan Bajić (2019–2023)
• SRB Vladimir Jovanović (2023–2024)
• SRB Nenad Stefanović (2024–present)

Honours

Domestic competitions

• Bosnian League
  • Winners (11): 2000–01, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
• Bosnian Cup
  • Winners (11): 2007, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025

Entity competitions

• Republika Srpska First League (second tier)
  • Winners (2): 1999–00, 2000–01
• Republika Srpska Cup
  • Winners (11): 1999–00, 2000–01, N/A, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2020–21

International record

Management

Current officeholders are:

• President: BIH Boris Spasojević
• General manager: BIH Igor Dodik
• Sports director: SRB Vuk Radivojević
• Team manager: BIH Siniša Kovačević

Youth selections

Student Igokea is the youth team of KK Igokea, based in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The team serves as a developmental squad for the main club, providing young players with the opportunity to hone their skills and compete at a high level.

Under-16 and younger play in the regional youth league of Republika Srpska, but the oldest selection plays in First League of Republika Srpska (basketball)

In 2023, Igokea won the Youth Basketball Champions League . They performed strongly in the group stage and knockout rounds, ultimately beating Tofaş S.K. in the finals and securing the first ever Youth Basketball Champions League trophy

References

References

1. "Company registration info: ABA LIGA j.t.d.".
2. (25 June 2013). "Igokea odustala od Eurolige". [[Nezavisne Novine]].
3. (5 February 2016). "Dozet: Velika sreća i čast što pod svodove dvorane u Laktašima ide moj dres".
4. (2023-03-21). "Igokea m:tel at the Youth Basketball Champions League 2023".