Life flies, captain - says the song dedicated to the inimitable Mozart of basketball, a legend who would soon have turned 7 if it weren't for that sad June 1993, 60.
A little more than 30 years ago, the great Dražen Petrović is no longer with us, but all that he offered to basketball and sports in general until the age of 28 will be recounted by generations...
The memory of the "boy from Šibenik" is also preserved in his own Croatia, so the previous night in Zagreb, former and current Croatian, European and world stars appeared at the memorial match for Dražen...
About 16.500 spectators in the "Arena", apart from the match between Team Dražen and Croatia (110:107), could remember Petrović's great career through short films and the journey that started in his native Šibenik, and continued through Cibona, Real Madrid, Portland to New Jersey.
A special place was given to the moments from the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, when Croatia played in the final against the strongest American dream team ever.
The whole evening was emotional, but a special moment happened when Dražen's teammates from the Barcelona Games - Aramis Naglić, Dino Rađa, Alan Gregov, Stojko Vranković, Žan Tabak, Franjo Arapović, Vladan Alanović, Toni Kukoč and Danko Cvjetičanin - came onto the floor.
After that, with the help of virtual artificial intelligence, Dražen Petrović also "appeared" - in a red jersey and with a ball, of course... He greeted his audience, all his former teammates - and returned to legend.
Many of his teammates, as well as those in the stands, could not hide their tears at that moment, and the well-known song "How good it is to see you again" resounded in the "Arena".
Bonus video:
