History
After the formation of Yugoslavia in 1945, there arose a need for athletic development in the fledgling nation. Post-WW2 Yugoslavia was (with the exception of major cities such as Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Sarajevo) for the most part lacking in competitive opportunities in sports. In response to this, 1945 and 1946 saw an explosion of new clubs and leagues for every sport, the basketball league being part of this phenomenon.
The very first competition under the newly formed Yugoslav Basketball League in 1945, drawing parallel to the Yugoslav First League (of football), was more or less a nationwide affirmation of unity. Instead of individual clubs competing in the usual fashion, there were only eight teams. Six representing each state within Yugoslavia, one representing the province of Vojvodina, and the last representing the Yugoslav People's Army.
Only in the 1970s did the basketball culture of Yugoslavia truly come to enjoy recognition as the top nation in basketball. Breaking away from the dominance of the Soviet Union, the Yugoslav league gave rise to stars that would go on to win multiple Basketball World Championships and European Basketball Championships. After a decade of dominance, the 1980s saw a disappointing slump of talent in the Yugoslav Basketball League.
Once again the world witnessed a sleeping giant come awake in the early 90s as Yugoslavia won two straight European Basketball Championships and a World Basketball Championship. This momentum was swiftly halted by the ethnic strife which broke out in 1991, and divided the nation into five successor republics, each founding their own basketball federations with the exception of Serbia and Montenegro, which retained the name Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the YUBA League.
- Serbia – Basketball Federation of Serbia
- Croatia – Croatian Basketball Federation
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Slovenia – Basketball Federation of Slovenia
- Macedonia – Basketball Federation of Macedonia
When Serbia and Montenegro peacefully separated in 2006, the YUBA League ceased to exist and was re-branded as the Basketball League of Serbia a Serbia-only organization, with Montenegro forming its own federation.
- Montenegro – Basketball Federation of Montenegro
Despite all changes joint league of clubs from former Yugoslavia proved to be winning formula so on July 3, 2001, Adriatic League was founded. It features teams from all former states excluding Macedonia and exists alongside scaled-down versions of domestic leagues.
Read more about this topic: Yugoslav Basketball League
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