Triple Champions Honor Slain Basketball Player: 'Cannot Accept My Best Friend Is Gone'

KK Cedevita Junior celebrated a remarkable achievement, clinching national youth basketball championships in three age categories: U-13, U-15, and U-19. The club also secured a third-place finish in the U-17 division. This dominance marks a significant success for the Zagreb-based club.

“

When I heard the news that my best friend Luka Milovac had died, it crushed me, destroyed me, because a part of me died with Luka and it will surely hurt for a long, long time.

The U-19 final saw Cedevita Junior overcome Kvarner, a team largely drawn from the Croatian Elite Basketball Academy. This academy is a project by Nikola Vujčić, a celebrated Croatian player with three European championship titles. In the championship game, Luka Santiago Stojić, son of former Croatian international Mario Stojić, delivered a standout performance, scoring an impressive 45 points. Stojić, however, has committed to playing for Germany, the country of his birth, rather than Croatia.

Amidst the celebrations, a poignant moment occurred when the youngest Cedevita Junior player donned a shirt honoring Luka Milovac. Milovac, a young basketball player from Drniš, was recently murdered. The shirt bore the message, "You will always be in our hearts, your KK DOŠK." The tragedy deeply affected Šime Vlaić, a 16-year-old Cedevita Junior player and Milovac's best friend.

“

He was the best child born in Drniš, and we spoke about twenty minutes before he died. He asked me something about basketball.

Vlaić, who played a crucial role in his team's bronze medal win in the U-17 category with 15 points, 13 assists, and four steals, spoke about the profound impact of Milovac's death. "When I heard the news that my best friend Luka Milovac had died, it crushed me, destroyed me, because a part of me died with Luka and it will surely hurt for a long, long time," Vlaić said. He described Milovac as "the best child born in Drniš" and a mentor figure, like an older brother. The two had spoken about basketball just twenty minutes before Milovac was killed.

“

Luka was almost three years older than me and was like an older brother to me, always protective.