KB Ylli

KB Golden Eagle Ylli
Nickname	Xhebrailat
Leagues	Kosovo Basketball Superleague Liga Unike
Founded	1975;49 years ago (1975)
Arena	Salla e Sporteve 13 Qërshori
Capacity	1,300
Location	Suva Reka, Kosovo
Team colors	Yellow , Blue
Main sponsor	Golden Eagle
President	Shaqir Palushi
Vice-president(s)	Lendrit Palushi
Head coach	Petar Mijović
Team captain	Gëzim Morina
Ownership	Golden Eagle
2023-24 position	2nd
Championships	2 Kosovo Basketball Superleague 1 Liga Unike 1 Superkupa Mbarëkombëtare
Home Away

KB Ylli, known as Golden Eagle Ylli for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Suva Reka, Kosovo. ^[1] The club currently plays in the Kosovo Basketball Superleague. Its fan club is called Xhebrailat.

History

KB Ylli was founded in 1975. ^[1] The club is known for its fans who support their club in especially in home games at 13 Qërshori sports hall. Their home matches are known for the fantastic atmosphere created by "Xhebrailat". Ylli means "star" in English.

In 2008 the club decided to withdraw from Kosovo Superleague due to bad financial conditions, and didn't play until 2014 when Golden Eagle, a beverage company from Suhareka, decided to be the main sponsor of the team and to pay for Wild Card which returned KB Ylli in Kosovo Superleague. ^[2] The 2015–16 season was the second consecutive in the Kosovo Superleague. In the 2014–15 season, they finished fourth and played in playoff finals against Sigal Prishtina. In the 2018-19 season of Kosovo Basketball Superleague they finished second and lost the semi-finals of the play off against KB Rahoveci. In the 2019-20 season they lost the final of Kosovan Cup against KB Peja.

In 2021, Ylli won their first league title and the Liga Unike. In the following year, Ylli won the league title again. ^[1]

Honours

• Kosovo Basketball Superleague :
  • Winners (2): 2020–21, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (2): 1994–95, 2023–24

• Kosovo Cup :
  • Runners-up (2): 2019–20, 2020–21

• Liga Unike :
  • Winners (1): 2020–21
  • Runners-up(2): 2021-22, 2023-24

• Superkupa Mbarëkombëtare
  • Winners (1): 2021

Arena

The club currently plays in the sport center Palestra 13 Qershori, in the center of Theranda, with a capacity for around 1300 spectators.

Season by Season

KB Golden Eagle Ylli (2014–2024)

Seasons	Division	Pos.	Play Offs	Kosovo Cup	Liga Unike	Kosovo Supercup	European competitions
2014-15	1	4th	Semifinalist	Semifinalist	—	—	—
2015-16	1	5th	—	QF
2016-17	1	5th	—	QF
2017-18	1	4th	Semifinalist	Semifinalist
2018-19	1	2nd	Semifinalist	Semifinalist
2019-20	1	3rd	Postponed	Runner-up
2020-21	1	3rd	Champion	Runner-up	Champion	Semifinalist
2021-22	1	1st	Champion	Semifinalist	Runner-Up	Semifinalist
2022–23	1	3rd	Semifinalist	Semifinalist	Postponed	Semifinalist	Champions League QF1 FIBA Europe Cup RS
2023–24	1	3rd	Runner-Up	Semifinalist	Runner-Up	Semifinalist	—

Matches in European competitions

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away
2022-23	Champions League	QR1	Benfica		67–92
	FIBA Europe Cup	RS	Hapoel Galil Elyon	76–93	73–85
			Brose Bamberg	60–76	81–78
			Niners Chemnitz	72–101	60–90

Players

Main page: Category:KB Ylli players

Current Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Golden Eagle Ylli roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age CG 0 Palokaj, Jan 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 23 – (2000-11-05)5 November 2000 PG 1 Bunjaku, Valon 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 26 – (1998-02-02)2 February 1998 PF 4 Grimes, Nate 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 103 kg (227 lb) 28 – (1996-05-01)1 May 1996 SF 5 Gashi, Artin 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 31 – (1993-04-28)28 April 1993 F/C 6 Morina, Gezim  (C) 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 31 – (1992-12-12)12 December 1992 SG 7 Memedi, Rrezart 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 21 – (2003-05-01)1 May 2003 G/F 8 Nesbitt, Jalen 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 30 – (1993-07-12)12 July 1993 PG 11 Verge Jr., Alonzo 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 74 kg (163 lb) 25 – (1998-10-17)17 October 1998 SF 15 Gashi, Zejd 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 21 – (2003-03-02)2 March 2003 G/F 24 Cole, Vince 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 25 – (1998-09-10)10 September 1998 C 34 Jones, Aaron 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 107 kg (236 lb) 30 – (1993-07-26)26 July 1993 SG 55 Mullaliu, Ervin 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 16 – (2007-10-14)14 October 2007 G/F 77 Shala, Altin 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 19 – (2004-08-14)14 August 2004 PG 92 Graf, Dajuan 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 31 – (1992-12-16)16 December 1992	Head coach Petar Mijović Assistant coach(es) Endrit Elshani Edin Kerveshi Legend (C) Team captain Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Nate Grimes	Aaron Jones
PF	Gezim Morina	Artin Gashi
SF	Jalen Nessbit	Vince Cole	Altin Shala
SG	Jan Palokaj	Valon Bunjaku	Rrezart Memedi
PG	Alonzo Verge Jr.	Dajuan Graf

Notable players

• Nikolla Haruni
• Renaldo Kacori
• Frenki Lilaj
• Ismet Sejfić
• Alexis Wangmene
• Henrik Širko
• Valon Bunjaku
• Artin Gashi
• Erjon Kastrati
• Blerim Mazreku
• Ardit Pepaj
• Samir Zekiqi
• Urim Zenelaj
• Jan Palokaj
• Gezim Morina
• Arber Berisha
• Dajuan Graf
• Chris Harris
• Malcolm Armstead

References

1. "KB Ylli: Illuminating Kosovo's basketball scene". Golden Eagle KS. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
2. "Stinori 2013-2014". topsporti.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 11 March 2024. KB Drita përjashtohet nga Superliga për shkak të mos përmbushjes së kritereve për pjesëmarrje në Superligë për edicionin 2014/15, derisa në vend të saj në Superligë inkuadrohet KB Ylli duke e shfrytëzuar Wild Card-in.

External links

• EuroBasket.com