By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Cibona has parted ways with head coach Ivan Rudez upon mutual agreement. The departure of the 46-year-old expert was announced on Thursday.
In a breakout 2025–26 campaign, his guidance led the squad to secure the SuperSport Premijer Liga championship, the first domestic league title in Croatia since 2022. The triumph earned the iconic Zagreb-based club a spot back in the Basketball Champions League.
The Zagreb native, who boasts over two decades of coaching experience and is the older brother of former NBA player Damjan Rudez, leaves with the organization’s gratitude for his dedication, as emphasized by sports director Marin Rozic. Until a permanent play-caller is appointed, assistant coaches Neven Nikolic and Andrej Stimac will serve as joint interim head coaches.
The shakeup meets Cibona at 1–1 in Group B of the BCL Regular Season. The team is preparing for a key road matchup on November 3 against SIG Strasbourg at the Rhenus Sport. The four-team group remains wide open. The French side, Galatasaray MCT Technic, and Legia Warszawa are all deadlocked with matching results.
Meanwhile, Strasbourg has faced its own roster challenges ahead of the second part of a six-game double-legged round-robin schedule. Following a leg injury to William Pfister, the shorthanded club signed 2.04-meter forward Bruno Cingala-Mata as a medical replacement. The 33-year-old’s arrival was announced shortly before their encounter against Galatasaray at Istanbul’s Sinan Erdem Dome on Tuesday. Debuting at the continental level, Cingala-Mata played a brief, scoreless stint lasting just under two minutes. Injuries forced strategist Janis Gailitis to rely on a restricted rotation, limiting the lineup to just seven main players.
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