By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Basketball can be connected to dangerous jobs, not only for the players but for coaches as well.
Zadar play-caller Danijel Jusup suffered a scary head injury when angry supporters of his own team threw items on the court on Friday. The experienced head coach, on his sixth spell with the Croatian club, was hit by an unspecified item before the AdmiralBet ABA League Regular Season Round 23 contest was interrupted with just over three minutes left in the first half.
The referees requested all fans to leave Zadar’s Kresimir Cosic Sports Hall. They eventually resumed action following a lengthy break.
Prompting the violent reactions was the initial request for an irritated person in attendance to leave the gym. The remaining fans protesting led to the injury of the 61-year-old tactician and the decision to clear the stands.
Navijači KK Zadar pogodili su u glavu trenera svog tima Danijela Jusupa, pa je meč protiv @BCIgokea prekinut. pic.twitter.com/RoICKkgzeX
— Mondo.ba Sport (@MondoBiHSport) March 24, 2023
“I am the coach, I don’t have much to say about it. I was hit by something on the head. It really hurt, but it doesn’t matter, it’s not for me to talk about it. It should be handled by someone else,” Jusup commented on the incident in the postgame press conference presumably referring to team or league officials.
Failing to convert the last offensive play, Zadar lost, 68-67, to Igokea m:tel. On the wrong end of an extremely long chaotic game stretching well beyond the two-hour mark, the home side fell to 10-13. Nikola Tanaskovic posting a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double was the driving force for Igokea improving to 8-14 in the regional league.
Photo Credit: ABA-Liga.com