YUBA Liga

The YUBA Liga, named Atlas Pils YUBA Liga for sponsorship reasons, is name of the two-tiered, top competitive league in Serbia, the Super League and the First League, each having their own Men's and Women's divisions.

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 opportinities in sports. In response to this, 1945 and 1946 saw an explosion of new clubs and leagues for every sport, the YUBA Liga being part of this phenomenon.

The very first competition under the newly formed YUBA Liga in 1945, drawing parallel to the Yugoslav First League, was more or less a nation wide 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 Voivodina, and the last representing the JNA, or 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 YUBA Liga 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 '91, 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 Yugoslavia and the YUBA Liga.

Serbia and Montenegro - YUBA Liga

Croatia - Hrvatski Košarkaški Savez

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Košarkaški Savez Bosne i Herzegovine

Slovenia - Slobasket

Macedonia - Кошаркарска Федерација на Македонија (Košarkarska Federacija na Makedonija)

When Serbia and Montenegro peacefully separated in 2006, the YUBA Liga became a Serbia-only organisation, with Montenegro forming its own federation:

Montenegro - Košarkaški Savez Crne Gore

Although they each have their own leagues, five of the six nations now take part in the Adriatic League, only recently founded in 2001 (Macedonia is not currently represented in that league). The Adriatic League is now the closest league to what YUBA Liga was in the former Yugoslavia.

Competition Format

Both the Super League and First League partake in double round robin style qualification round, where each team plays every other team both at home and away. Even the quarter's, semi's, and finals are played at home and away, including a tie-breaker if necessary with the home advantage awarded to the better qualifying team.

The Super League Men's contains eight clubs, while Women's contains six. Immediately after the qualification round are the semi finals, in which the top four qualifying teams compete in. While the two leagues work exactly the same, the First League however, contains almost twice as many clubs as the Super League, fourteen and twelve for Men's and Women's respectively and therefore includes quarter finals.

Current Teams

Past Yugoslav Cup Champions

(As Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
*1945 - Jugoslovenska Armija
*1946 - Crvena Zvezda
*1947 - Crvena Zvezda
*1948 - Crvena Zvezda
*1949 - Crvena Zvezda
*1950 - Crvena Zvezda
*1951 - Crvena Zvezda
*1952 - Crvena Zvezda
*1953 - Crvena Zvezda
*1954 - Crvena Zvezda
*1955 - Crvena Zvezda
*1956 - Proleter
*1957 - Olimpija
*1958 - OKK Beograd
*1959 - Olimpija
*1960 - OKK Beograd
*1961 - Olimpija
*1962 - Olimpija
*1963 - OKK Beograd
*1964 - OKK Beograd
*1965 - Zadar
*1966 - Olimpija
*1967 - Zadar

(championship format change)
*1967/1968 - Zadar
*1968/1969 - Crvena Zvezda
*1969/1970 - Olimpija
*1970/1971 - Jugoplastika
*1971/1972 - Crvena Zvezda
*1972/1973 - Radnički
*1973/1974 - Zadar
*1974/1975 - Zadar
*1975/1976 - Partizan
*1976/1977 - Jugoplastika
*1977/1978 - Bosna
*1978/1979 - Partizan
*1979/1980 - Bosna
*1980/1981 - Partizan
*1981/1982 - Cibona
*1982/1983 - Šibenka (taken)... Bosna
*1983/1984 - Cibona
*1984/1985 - Cibona
*1985/1986 - Zadar
*1986/1987 - Partizan
*1987/1988 - Jugoplastika
*1988/1989 - Jugoplastika
*1989/1990 - Jugoplastika
*1990/1991 - POP 84 (Jugoplastika)
*1991/1992 - Partizan

(As Serbia and Montenegro)

Notable Teams

Cibona

Crvena Zvezda

Partizan

Split (also known by past sponsorship names of POP 84 and Jugoplastika)

Zadar

Olimpija

OKK Beograd

Bosna

Notable players

Radivoj Korać,Dražen Petrović,Mirza Delibašić,Toni Kukoč,Vlade Divac,Dino Rađa,Dražen Dalipagić,Zoran Slavnić,Aleksandar Đorđević

See also

*Naša Sinalko Liga

External links

* [http://nsl.kosarka.co.yu YUBA Liga Official Website]