Legendary basketball coach Ivkovic passes away at 78

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Serbia's Dusan Ivkovic, one of the legendary coaches of European basketball, died on Thursday, FIBA confirmed. He was 78.

"Rest in Peace, Duda!" FIBA EuroBasket, the main international basketball competition, tweeted.

Ivkovic played club basketball at the senior level in Serbia's Radnicki Belgrade from 1958 to 1968.

As a coach, he guided 12 European basketball clubs such as Aris, PAOK, Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow, and Anadolu Efes.

The Serbian legend led Olympiacos to win two EuroLeague titles, and Dinamo Moscow to claim ULEB Cup.

In 2008, Ivkovic was honored as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors. He entered the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017.

He served as the head coach of the Yugoslavian national team from 1987 to 1995, and led the squad to gold medals at 1989, 1991, and 1995 EuroBasket as well as the 1990 FIBA World Cup.

Ivkovic was the Serbian national team manager (2008 to 2013) when it won a silver medal after losing to Spain in the FIBA EuroBasket 2009 final.

In 2016, he ended his career with Turkish club Anadolu Efes after two seasons.

- Condolences

Tributes and condolences poured in from clubs and players, celebrating his life and career.

Turkish basketball player Cedi Osman called him "One of the best coaches in history of basketball."

"Truly an inspiration and teacher to me. Thank you for everything, legend. I will keep you in my memories forever," he said on Twitter.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of the European basketball legend Dusan Ivkovic. We give our condolences to his family and loved ones," said Fenerbahce Beko.

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague sent "deepest condolences" to the family and loved ones of the "Euroleague Basketball Legend."

Anadolu Efes also expressed "sincere condolences and our deepest sympathies to his family and friends."

"Rest in Peace one of the Greatest basketball masterminds ever," said Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg in a tweet.