Čačak94- a fusion of basketball and IT

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Čačak94 Quantox basketball club was founded in 1994 in Čačak and after almost three decades, in the last 6 seasons - managed to take a long way from the last league to the first league of Serbia - KLS.

Nikola Keljević, the director of the Čačak94, is someone who has been playing basketball all his life and has spent a lot of time on the sports field. He believes that through it, he succeeded to transfer that experience to the professional level in an international IT company.

Today, parallel with running the club, Nikola is the important part of the C level of Quantox Technology and through the position of Client Solution Executive contributes to the business endeavors.

Over 100 basketball players of different ages are currently actively training in the club. In addition to the first team - the main strengths are also two junior and two cadet selections, joined with pioneers! A few months ago, the club has organized a free basketball school for boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 14.

On the eve of the club's jubilee, we talk to Nikola about the very beginnings,  further plans, what brings the merger of professional sports and the IT industry as well as how basketball can develop qualities which are important for the business environment.

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Čačak94 Quantox basketball club celebrates 30 years next year. How did it all begin?

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The initiative to establish a club was initiated by a group of basketball enthusiasts in 1994. According to the founders themselves, Čačak needed a third club because of the large number of boys who trained basketball and could not find their place in the senior teams of the existing two clubs in Čačak.

Throughout its history, the club had various difficulties such as training conditions, but despite everything, it prevailed. From the 2017/2018 season, when the club was taken over by Vuk and Milan Popović and the Quantox company, the club has only gone uphill.

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KK Čačak94 is now part of the first league of Serbia - KLS. Were you surprised by the success and what do you think contributed the most to this "score"?

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In the 2020/2021 season, the club entered the second league from the Serbian league, but it was only a momentary historical success because, after only one season spent in the Second League of Serbia, the club achieved the new greatest historical success and entry into the First League of Serbia.

Neither of those two successes surprised me at all because the hard work and dedication paid off, and big basketball names played and are still playing in the club. The club management has provided the best possible conditions for the club to progress year after year. I can conclude that for the success of the club, the combination of quality players and capable management of the club was a winning combination.

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What are the plans and how do you see the further development of the Čačak94 Quantox basketball club?

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The club's plans are focused on the younger categories and their development. To achieve this, the plan is to build a sports complex KK Čačak94 with all the necessary facilities for the work and training of talented children from the entire region of western Serbia and beyond. The sports complex would include halls for all-day training, gyms, accommodation units with a restaurant, etc.

Our cadets are currently in 6th place in the first league of Serbia for their age group, behind teams such as Partizan, C.Zvezda, Borac, Mega, and Vojvodina, so I can safely say that these children are the future of our club.

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Bearing in mind that you are a C-level member of the Quantox company - what does the combination of IT and basketball look like from your point of view?

I think it's a great combination for the simple reason that teamwork and spirit are very important and necessary in both jobs. An individual alone can make certain results, but with well-synchronized and organized work in a team - he can achieve much more! Sport builds an attitude towards life, which is crucial in the attitude towards challenges in everyday work. Currently, the company has a large number of people working in basketball, so I see this combination as extremely successful.

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How do you think that investing in sports contributes to the community?

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Investing in sports is very important for our community because it helps children and young people to play sports and spend their time productively and healthily. In sports, young people gain self-confidence and learn basic values ​​such as tolerance and cooperation within a team, but at the same time, they also acquire the ability to accept defeat and understand that defeat can be turned into victory with more effort and work.

We are proud to point out that a large number of our players have graduated from university in the meantime, and this is perhaps one of the greatest successes and the best result of the club's work. It can be said that with sports, people will be healthier and happier, which certainly has a positive effect on the entire community.

Also, Čačak94 regularly supports humanitarian actions in his city, and all money from the sale of first-team tickets is regularly donated to humanitarian causes. In this way, we try to help those who need help and contribute to the community.

I hope that as many young people as possible throughout Serbia will have the desire and opportunity to train in good conditions and that by fostering the culture of sports, we contribute to a better community. It is precise with this mission that we invested a lot of time and energy in the development of the Čacak94 Quantox club, strengthened it, and are ready to continue to contribute wholeheartedly to this goal.

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