Šibenik celebrates 60th birthday of its legendary son Dražen Petrović
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
(Photo: Grad Šibenik)
The Croatian city of Šibenik is celebrating the 60th birthday of basketball legend Dražen Petrović, who remains forever known to the people of Šibenik as “our little one.”
Born in Šibenik on 22 October 1964, Petrović was just 28 years of age when he tragically died in a car accident in Germany after returning from playing for Croatia in Poland in 1993.
The main event of the celebrations today will take place at Dražen Petrović’s monument in Baldekin where delegations from the City of Šibenik, Šibenik-Knin County, sports clubs, and associations will lay wreaths and light candles.
Following a short programme led by students of Ivana Guberina from Juraj Šižgorić Primary School, wreaths will also be laid at Dražen’s basketball hoop in Petra Preradovića Street.
(Photo: Grad Šibenik)
In honour of Dražen’s birthday, the 23rd Dražen Petrović Cup, an international basketball tournament for young players born was held at the Baldekin Sports Hall, organised by OKK Dražen Petrović.
Additionally, the ninth edition of the “Šibenik Ten” and “Dražen’s Four” road races, which serve as the Croatian Road Running Championship, also were held.
Film premiere
The world premiere of the feature film “Dražen,” directed by Danilo Šerbedžija and produced by Ljubo Zdjelarević and Ivor Šiber, will be held tonight at the Cinestar cinema in the Dalmare Centre in Šibenik.
Filming took place in Šibenik, Zagreb, Madrid and the United States.
(Photo: Press/Kinoteka)
Petrović is remembered on the court for winning two silver Olympic medals and one bronze, a gold and a bronze in the FIBA World Cup, a gold and a bronze in the FIBA EuroBasket, and two Euroleague titles.
(Photo credit: Mario Topić/Kinoteka)
Having initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s before joining the American NBA in 1989, he exerted huge influence on European and American basketball.
