# 2018–19 ABA League First Division

The 2018–19 ABA League First Division is the 18th season of the ABA League with 12 teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia participating in it. It is the first time since the 2011–12 season that there are no participants from North Macedonia.

## Format changes

On March 13, 2018, the Adriatic League Assembly decided to abolish the National standings and, as of the 2018–19 season, participants are determined only based on the results in the competitions under the umbrella of the Adriatic League (First Division and Second Division). Promotion and relegation will now be based on the First and Second Division. The last place team in the First Division is relegated to the Second Division, while the winner of the Second Division is promoted. Also, as of the 2018–19 season, the 11th placed team of the 2018–19 First Division season and the runners-up of the 2018–19 Second Division season will play in a Relegation Playoff for a spot in the 2019–20 First Division season. The format of the Qualifiers will be best of three, while the home court advantage will be given to the team that played in the First Division in the previous season.
The maximum number of clubs from one country in the First Division is five. The last placed club in the First Division will have a guaranteed place in the Second Division in the following season. The confirmed competition system shall not be changed until the end of the 2024–25 season, if there are no significant changes in the European basketball by then.

## Teams
### Promotion and relegation

A total of 12 teams will contest the league, including 11 sides from the 2017–18 season and one promoted from the 2017–18 Second Division.

#### Team promoted from Second Division

* Krka

#### Team relegated to Second Division

* MZT Skopje Aerodrom

### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena | Capacity |
| Budućnost VOLI | Podgorica | Morača Sports Center | 5,500 |
| Cedevita | Zagreb | Dom sportova | 3,100 |
| Cibona | Zagreb | Dražen Petrović Hall | 5,400 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | Belgrade | Aleksandar Nikolić Hall | 5,878 |
| FMP | Belgrade | Železnik Hall | 3,000 |
| Igokea | Aleksandrovac | Laktaši Sports Hall | 3,050 |
| Krka | Novo Mesto | Leon Štukelj Hall | 2,500 |
| Mega Bemax | Sremska Mitrovica | Pinki Sports Hall | 2,500 |
| Mornar | Bar | Topolica Sport Hall | 2,625 |
| Partizan NIS | Belgrade | Aleksandar Nikolić Hall | 5,878 |
| Petrol Olimpija | Ljubljana | Arena Stožice | 12,480 |
| Zadar | Zadar | Krešimir Ćosić Hall | 7,997 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Budućnost VOLI | Jasmin Repeša | Suad Šehović | Spalding | VOLI / Tea Medica |
| Cedevita | Slaven Rimac | Andrija Stipanović | Adidas | Cedevita / INA |
| Cibona | Ivan Velić | Marin Rozić | Visual | Erste Bank |
| Crvena zvezda mts | Milan Tomić | Branko Lazić | Nike | mts |
| FMP | Vladimir Jovanović | Radoš Šešlija | Champion | FMP |
| Igokea | Dragan Nikolić | Vuk Radivojević | GBT | m:tel |
| Krka | Simon Petrov | Domen Bratož | Žolna šport | Krka |
| Mega Bemax | Dejan Milojević | Ognjen Čarapić | Adidas | Bemax / Tehnomanija |
| Mornar | Mihailo Pavićević | Marko Mijović | Armani | epcg |
| Partizan NIS | Andrea Trinchieri | Novica Veličković | Under Armour | NIS / mts |
| Petrol Olimpija | Jure Zdovc | Gregor Hrovat | Peak | Petrol |
| Zadar | Ante Nazor | Šime Špralja | Visual | OTP Bank / Crodux |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced with | Date of appointment |
| Igokea | Dragan Bajić | 2 April 2018 | Off-season | Žarko Milaković | 2 April 2018 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | Dušan Alimpijević | 8 May 2018 | Off-season | Milenko Topić | 8 May 2018 |
| Cedevita | Jure Zdovc | 6 June 2018 | Off-season | Sito Alonso | 8 June 2018 |
| Cibona | Ante Nazor | 6 June 2018 | Off-season | Ivan Velić | 8 June 2018 |
| Zadar | Aramis Naglić | 21 June 2018 | Off-season | Aleš Pipan | 28 June 2018 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | Milenko Topić | July 2018 | Off-season | Milan Tomić | 13 July 2018 |
| Igokea | Žarko Milaković | July 2018 | Off-season | Nenad Trajković | 14 July 2018 |
| Zadar | Aleš Pipan | 23 October 2018 | 12th (0–4) | Ante Nazor | 23 October 2018 |
| Cedevita | Sito Alonso | 25 October 2018 | 9th (1–3) | Slaven Rimac | 25 October 2018 |
| Partizan NIS | Nenad Čanak | 26 October 2018 | 7th (2–3) | Andrea Trinchieri | 1 November 2018 |
| Igokea | Nenad Trajković | 5 November 2018 | 9th (2–4) | Žarko Milaković | 5 November 2018 |
| Petrol Olimpija | Zoran Martič | 19 November 2018 | 11th (2–6) | Saša Nikitović | 19 November 2018 |
| Igokea | Žarko Milaković | 24 December 2018 | 10th (4–8) | Dragan Nikolić | 24 December 2018 |
| Budućnost VOLI | Aleksandar Džikić | 29 December 2018 | 3rd (8–4) | Jasmin Repeša | 30 December 2018 |
| Petrol Olimpija | Saša Nikitović | 19 February 2019 | 10th (6–13) | Jure Zdovc | 19 February 2019 |

## Regular season

The season began on September 28, 2018. The regular season ended on March 17, 2019.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Crvena zvezda mts | 22 | 21 | 1 | 1875 | 1517 | +358 | 43 | Advance to the playoffs |
| 2 | Cedevita | 22 | 16 | 6 | 1924 | 1769 | +155 | 38 | Advance to the playoffs |
| 3 | Budućnost VOLI | 22 | 16 | 6 | 1783 | 1636 | +147 | 38 | Advance to the playoffs |
| 4 | Partizan NIS | 22 | 14 | 8 | 1779 | 1663 | +116 | 36 | Advance to the playoffs |
| 5 | Mega Bemax | 22 | 10 | 12 | 1802 | 1880 | −78 | 32 | |
| 6 | FMP | 22 | 10 | 12 | 1736 | 1786 | −50 | 32 | |
| 7 | Cibona | 22 | 9 | 13 | 1744 | 1810 | −66 | 31 | |
| 8 | Igokea | 22 | 8 | 14 | 1798 | 1869 | −71 | 30 | |
| 9 | Mornar | 22 | 8 | 14 | 1780 | 1907 | −127 | 30 | |
| 10 | Krka | 22 | 7 | 15 | 1587 | 1776 | −189 | 29 | |
| 11 | Zadar | 22 | 7 | 15 | 1803 | 1900 | −97 | 29 | Qualification to the relegation playoffs |
| 12 | Petrol Olimpija | 22 | 6 | 16 | 1685 | 1783 | −98 | 28 | Relegation to the Second Division |
* 1 2 Cedevita 1–1, 1.02; Budućnost VOLI 1–1, 0.98
* 1 2 Mega Bemax 1–1, 1.06; FMP 1–1, 0.94
* 1 2 Igokea 2–0, 1.17; Mornar 0–2, 0.85
* 1 2 Krka 1–1, 1.05; Zadar 1–1, 0.95

### Positions by round

* First place & advance to the playoffs
* Advance to the playoffs
* Qualification to the relegation playoffs
* Relegated
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cedevita | 8 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Budućnost VOLI | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Partizan NIS | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Mega Bemax | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| FMP | 3 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Cibona | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Igokea | 7 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| Mornar | 11 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| Krka | 12 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| Zadar | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| Petrol Olimpija | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BUD | CED | CIB | CZV | FMP | IGO | KRK | MEG | MOR | PAR | OLI | ZAD |
| Budućnost VOLI | — | 80–78 | 91–82 | 71–87 | 79–59 | 96–70 | 86–64 | 91–85 | 102–71 | 75–71 | 85–69 | 75–69 |
| Cedevita | 63–58 | — | 89–68 | 84–68 | 87–85 | 100–80 | 104–75 | 86–95 | 94–80 | 84–87 | 95–82 | 83–72 |
| Cibona | 83–77 | 78–75 | — | 54–76 | 90–71 | 84–86 | 99–71 | 89–71 | 84–73 | 59–83 | 87–70 | 66–97 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | 86–72 | 94–79 | 78–68 | — | 79–62 | 96–75 | 80–66 | 100–76 | 104–71 | 70–68 | 89–61 | 97–70 |
| FMP | 70–87 | 81–95 | 93–88 | 72–81 | — | 87–78 | 93–65 | 106–89 | 82–84 | 73–72 | 64–63 | 99–86 |
| Igokea | 78–85 | 75–78 | 87–69 | 77–79 | 74–85 | — | 91–73 | 79–80 | 81–60 | 84–92 | 115–105 | 100–82 |
| Krka | 69–64 | 82–71 | 90–100 | 66–96 | 71–76 | 69–71 | — | 82–69 | 80–76 | 80–76 | 62–59 | 77–78 |
| Mega Bemax | 70–77 | 101–107 | 82–80 | 68–78 | 89–61 | 93–88 | 80–72 | — | 82–80 | 74–81 | 81–77 | 85–97 |
| Mornar | 95–99 | 102–103 | 91–78 | 57–90 | 79–69 | 97–103 | 86–77 | 80–84 | — | 97–94 | 80–75 | 89–81 |
| Partizan NIS | 76–67 | 71–76 | 85–67 | 71–77 | 83–77 | 67–57 | 87–55 | 98–86 | 75–73 | — | 82–79 | 85–95 |
| Petrol Olimpija | 72–77 | 70–98 | 78–80 | 60–83 | 88–86 | 92–69 | 70–69 | 91–78 | 87–66 | 66–72 | — | 91–81 |
| Zadar | 69–89 | 85–95 | 95–91 | 69–87 | 79–85 | 95–80 | 64–72 | 80–84 | 83–93 | 92–97 | 84–80 | — |

## Playoffs

The semi-finals will be played in a best-of-three format, while the Finals were played in a best-of-five format. Playoffs will begin on 23 March 2019 and planned to end by 22 April 2019.

### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| March 23 – April 6 | March 23 – April 6 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | 2 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | 2 | April 12 – April 22 | April 12 – April 22 |
| Partizan NIS | 1 | April 12 – April 22 | April 12 – April 22 |
| Partizan NIS | 1 | Crvena zvezda mts | 3 |
| March 25 – April 7 | March 25 – April 7 | | Crvena zvezda mts | 3 |
| March 25 – April 7 | March 25 – April 7 | Budućnost VOLI | 2 |
| Cedevita | 1 | Budućnost VOLI | 2 |
| Budućnost VOLI | 2 | | |
* 2018–19 ABA League Champions
* Crvena zvezda mts 4th title

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | 2–1 | Partizan NIS | 106–101 | 67–70 | 84–63 |
| Cedevita | 1–2 | Budućnost VOLI | 90–83 | 72–87 | 73–78 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Crvena zvezda mts | 3–2 | Budućnost VOLI | 91–72 | 107–69 | 72–80 | 80–84 | 97–54 |

## Relegation playoffs

As of the 2018–19 season, the 11th placed team of the 2018–19 First Division season and the runners-up of the 2018–19 Second Division season will play in the Qualifiers for a spot in the 2019–20 First Division season.
As the team coming from the ABA League, Zadar had the home court advantage in the first and third game of the series, while MZT was the host of the second game of the Qualifiers series. Zadar won the series 2−1 and kept its First League status.

### Teams

* First Division 11th place: Zadar
* Second Division 2nd place: MZT Skopje Aerodrom

### Results

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Zadar | 2–1 | MZT Skopje Aerodrom | 83–89 | 78–77 | 86−75 |

## Statistical leaders

    As of 22 April 2019
| PIR Pos Player Club PIR 1 Dragan Apić FMP 29.50 2 Luka Božić Zadar 21.68 3 Sava Lešić Igokea 18.05 4 Tomislav Zubčić Igokea 17.57 5 Dominik Mavra Krka 17.29 | Points Pos Player Club PPG 1 Dragan Apić FMP 21.29 2 Tomislav Zubčić Igokea 19.00 3 Jacob Pullen Cedevita 17.40 4 Dominik Mavra Krka 16.29 5 Sava Lešić Igokea 15.18 |
| Rebounds Pos Player Club RPG 1 Luka Božić Zadar 7.23 2 Dragan Apić FMP 7.14 3 Uroš Luković Mornar 7.00 4 Michael Ojo Crvena zvezda 6.43 5 Sava Lešić Igokea 6.41 | Assists Pos Player Club APG 1 Matic Rebec FMP 5.84 2 Joe Ragland Crvena zvezda 5.73 3 Dominik Mavra Krka 5.71 4 Alex Renfroe Partizan 5.54 5 Scottie Reynolds Olimpija 5.50 |
Source: ABA League Archived 2017-12-28 at the Wayback Machine

## Awards

| Pos. | Player | Team |
| MVP ||||
| C | Goga Bitadze | Budućnost VOLI |
| Finals MVP ||||
| SG | Billy Baron | Crvena zvezda mts |
| Top Prospect ||||
| C | Goga Bitadze | Budućnost VOLI |
| Ideal Starting Five ||||
| PG | Joe Ragland | Crvena zvezda mts |
| SG | Jacob Pullen | Cedevita |
| SF | Stratos Perperoglou | Crvena zvezda mts |
| PF | Jock Landale | Partizan NIS |
| C | Goga Bitadze | Budućnost VOLI |

## MVP List
### MVP of the Round

| Round | Player | Team | PIR |
| 1 | Dragan Apić | FMP | 40 |
| 2 | Sava Lešić | Igokea | 30 |
| 3 | Nemanja Vranješ | Mornar | 33 |
| 4 | Uroš Luković | Mornar | 31 |
| 5 | Luka Božić | Zadar | 36 |
| 6 | Luka Božić (2) | Zadar | 33 |
| 7 | Stefan Pot | FMP | 39 |
| 8 | Luka Božić (3) | Zadar | 36 |
| 9 | Jacob Pullen | Cedevita | 43 |
| 10 | Vanja Marinković | Partizan | 32 |
| 11 | Marko Ljubičić | Cibona | 30 |
| 12 | Dragan Apić (2) | FMP | 34 |
| 13 | Dragan Apić (3) | FMP | 42 |
| 14 | Luka Božić (4) | Zadar | 25 |
| 15 | Elgin Cook | Cedevita | 32 |
| 16 | Filip Bundović | Cibona | 29 |
| 17 | Nemanja Vranješ (2) | Mornar | 29 |
| 18 | Stefan Pot (2) | FMP | 35 |
| 19 | Luka Ašćerić | Mega Bemax | 35 |
| 20 | Dominik Mavra | Krka | 37 |
| 21 | Goga Bitadze | Budućnost VOLI | 31 |
| 22 | Danilo Anđušić | Igokea | 30 |
| SF1 | Dejan Davidovac | Crvena zvezda mts | 26 |
| SF2 | Vanja Marinković (2) | Partizan | 22 |
| SF3 | Nemanja Gordić | Budućnost VOLI | 16 |
| F1 | Billy Baron | Crvena zvezda mts | 27 |
| F2 | K. C. Rivers | Crvena zvezda mts | 20 |
| F3 | Norris Cole | Budućnost VOLI | 20 |
| F4 | Norris Cole (2) | Budućnost VOLI | 36 |
| F5 | K. C. Rivers (2) | Crvena zvezda mts | 21 |
Source: ABA League

### MVP of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| 2018 ||||
| October | Goga Bitadze | Mega Bemax |
| November | Dragan Apić | FMP |
| December | Dragan Apić (2) | FMP |
| 2019 ||||
| January | Marcus Paige | Partizan |
| February | Stefan Pot | FMP |

## Attendances

Attendances include playoff games:
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Partizan NIS | 66,420 | 7,920 | 1,200 | 5,535 | +20.6%$^†$ |
| 2 | Crvena zvezda mts | 73,031 | 6,858 | 2,345 | 4,564 | +3.4%$^†$ |
| 3 | Zadar | 48,750 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 4,432 | +2.1%$^†$ |
| 4 | Budućnost VOLI | 55,009 | 5,860 | 1,950 | 3,929 | +15.5%$^†$ |
| 5 | Mornar | 25,400 | 3,000 | 1,550 | 2,309 | +8.6%$^†$ |
| 6 | Cedevita | 25,850 | 5,500 | 500 | 1,988 | +44.1%$^†$ |
| 7 | Igokea | 19,350 | 3,500 | 500 | 1,759 | −19.6%$^†$ |
| 8 | Petrol Olimpija | 16,670 | 3,500 | 700 | 1,515 | +6.2%$^†$ |
| 9 | Mega Bemax | 16,080 | 2,500 | 1,000 | 1,462 | +1.5%$^†$ |
| 10 | Cibona | 14,740 | 2,350 | 590 | 1,340 | −5.2%$^†$ |
| 11 | Krka | 13,730 | 2,000 | 500 | 1,248 | +51.3%$^1$ |
| 12 | FMP | 9,790 | 1,400 | 500 | 890 | −2.6%$^†$ |
| | League total | 384,820 | 8,000 | 500 | 2,691 | +5.7%$^†$ |
Updated to match(es) played on April 22, 2019. Source: Notes: 1: previous season average applied to second division games

## Clubs in European competitions

| Competition | Team | Progress | Progress | Result |
| EuroLeague | Budućnost VOLI | Regular season | Regular season | 15th (6–24) |
| EuroCup | Partizan NIS | Top 16 Group E | (1) | 4th (2–4) |
| EuroCup | Crvena zvezda mts | Top 16 Group G | (1) | 3rd (2–4) |
| EuroCup | Cedevita | Top 16 Group H | (1) | 4th (0–6) |
| EuroCup | Mornar | Regular season Group D | Regular season Group D | 5th (2–8) |
| Champions League | Petrol Olimpija | Regular season Group D | Regular season Group D | 8th (1–13) |