The first medal
The first medal on a significant competition Yugoslavia won in the European championship in Belgrade in 1961.
It was a generation of Yugoslav players trained by Aleksandar Nikolic and led on the field by Radivoj Korac, one of the top European scorer of all times.
Although the placing into the European championship finals itself was a major success, Yugoslav team hoped that it would, with the support of its fans, make the final step and defeat, at the time invincible, the USSR team in the match for golden medal.
Encouraged by the support of more than 12,000 spectators in the Belgrade Fair Hall, Yugoslav players started the game with success and led by 15-6. However, as the time passed, the power, experience and distinct advantage in height of the Soviet players became fully expressed, and the crucial role was played by their center player Krumins, 218 cm tall and 140 kg of weight.
Finally, the Soviet team won by 75:58 and preserved the first place in the European basketball. It was the first Yugoslav medal in a series of successes that occurred in the following years and decades.
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