KK Pelister kicks off 2026/27 preseason under coach Tane Spasev

KK Pelister has officially opened preparations for the 2026/27 season, beginning training in Bitola under a reorganised club structure and a renewed development plan.

The team will be led this season by experienced coach Tane Spasev, who signed a one-year contract. His assistant will be Vladimir Nikolovski, a pairing the club says will provide continuity in player development and day-to-day work.

Domestic focus, limited foreigners

The club confirmed that all newcomers attended the initial roll-call except for the American players, who are scheduled to join the squad on Monday in Bitola. Pelister will prepare using domestic sparring partners and has also entered the memorial tournament "Zoran Petkovski–Petkoto" on 16 and 17 September at the Boro Churlevski sports hall in Bitola.

Spasev offered his assessment of the start of preparations:

"Pelister is a club with a reputation. Since my youth the brand meant a lot in Macedonian basketball. And Bitola is one of the most beautiful cities in North Macedonia. I liked this project immediately. The emphasis will be on young Macedonian players, with only three foreigners. I think it will be a good environment to work in, young energy and I hope we will play beautiful basketball for the audience.

We will play friendly matches only against Macedonian teams, and the first is already scheduled for September 4. We will also play at the memorial tournament here in Bitola. Roughly, we will test against almost all teams from the league".

The club says the preseason calendar will include a slate of domestic friendlies, with the first confirmed test on 4 September, and that the coaching staff expect to use those games to integrate youth prospects alongside the limited number of foreign players.

Pelister enters the new cycle aiming to rebuild the roster around a younger core while retaining enough experienced elements to compete in the national championship.

Photo: press material from the event