Life Story of Champion Dražen Petrović’s Mother: ‘On June 7, 1993, Time Stopped for Me! My Son Was a Devil on Court and Angel in Life’

Born in Šibenik, Biserka Petrović never intended to become a public figure. She met the love of her life, Jovan Jole Petrović, when she was just 17 years old. From this great love, they had two sons, Aleksandar and Dražen. The younger one became the “Mozart of Basketball” but tragically lost his life at just 29 years old...

“I don’t know how I survived hearing those words. I headed towards the balcony; in such moments, you can’t control your body. You’re in shock, and your brain reacts differently. My husband, Jole, was more composed. He grabbed me and prevented the worst from happening, saving me. Thanks to him, I can now do everything for Dražen. To keep the myth of him alive. To ensure that what he accomplished in his short life is remembered as it should be, and passed down through generations. That has kept me going. My psychiatrist once told me: ‘Mrs. Petrović, you’ve raised such children, now you need to fight for your own life. You can only do that through work.’ I listened to him and started the journey of creating a museum.

My Jole

“The hardest hit by the tragedy was Aleksandar (Aca). Without my husband’s support, I wouldn’t have managed. Jole and I met on May 1st at the Krka Waterfalls. He was handsome, and many women in Šibenik were in love with him. My friend and I noticed him looking at us, but we couldn’t tell who he was interested in. At that time, I was a bit shy and not thinking about love. But it happened anyway. When Jole approached me, everything became clear. We started dating, and a year later, we were married. We rented an apartment in the Jadronjić household near the prep school, where our first son, Aleksandar, was born. This is where Aleksandar celebrated his first birthday. We then got an apartment near the healthcare centre, and later, just before Dražen’s birth in 1964, we moved to an apartment at 3 Preradovićeva Street.

“I married very young, at 18. My husband, Jole, was born in Herzegovina but was a scholarship recipient in Šibenik after finishing the administrative school in Zemun. We still have relatives in Zrenjanin and Zemun. My husband was the last of his siblings to pass away. He had grown up in Dubrovnik before receiving a scholarship to live in Šibenik, where we met. He worked a demanding job in the police force and was often away. With the arrival of our children, I couldn’t pursue a job. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with our children while also contributing financially. The solution was to stay home and sew, allowing me to be with the kids.

He weighed five kilos

“Dražen was born a big baby, nearly five kilograms. I had a difficult birth. The doctor who delivered him had a son named Dražen, and that’s how our son got his name. From birth, he was special. As a child, he didn’t talk much, which worried us, but when he did speak, it was so powerful for a one or two-year-old that we all realised he was something special and treated him as a gift. His older brother Aleksandar, five and a half years his senior, became like a second parent to him because he adored his little brother for being so unique. It was Aleksandar who sparked Dražen’s love for basketball.

My Aco

“Aleksandar (Aco) was a great player himself, leading Šibenka from the Croatian league into the Second League. Dražen would follow him everywhere, even carrying Aco’s bag to training. He was practically the mascot of the Šibenik gym. If there were no boys to practice with, he would train with the girls. He was like a little girl. He was quiet, didn’t talk much, and some people even advised me to communicate more with him. Later, I understood that he was always deep in thought—he was a kind of genius. He didn’t need statistics; after a game, Dražen already had everything in his head—how many points he scored, how many misses... It was astonishing.

"Aco used to call him Fred Flintstone because, in the beginning, his shot was like that. Dražen would often say, ‘Fred Flintstone will show him how it's done and how to play.' And he was a hard worker. In fact, he picked up the best qualities from everyone and never needed to be pushed to train. He set goals for himself, and nothing could distract him.

An Important Lesson

“When Dražen had already become a star in Šibenik, he once came to visit me in the library while I was charging a child a late fee for a book. He told me, ‘Mom, he didn’t mean to steal the book; he just forgot to return it.’ From that moment on, I never charged a child a late fee again. Sometimes I learned from him, believe me. Once, I had an argument with a neighbour over something trivial, as women sometimes do, and he said to me, ‘Why didn’t you just smile at her? She’d never do that to you again. You can’t change anyone, Mom. If you can’t deal with someone, just step aside.’

Basketball

“Every mother is happy about her children’s success. My husband was just as joyful and worried as I was, but he’s different from me. Jole didn’t attend games because it was too stressful for him; such an intense mix of emotions—both good and bad—was too much for his fragile stomach. When Šibenka played that historic match against Bosna, the entire city of Šibenik was at the Baldekin arena, but my Jole spent the game walking along the waterfront. Many found it strange; some even judged him for it, but he simply couldn’t handle the excitement. The truth about Aco and Dražen’s father needs to be told. He never let his sons down for even a moment. He was the pillar of our family, taking care of everything and standing behind me, Aco, and Dražen in every way. I wouldn’t have been able to travel to games and cheer for my children if he hadn’t been like that.

His father’s spitting image

“Dražen inherited many traits from his father. He didn’t talk much but was always deep in thought. Here’s something I’ve never shared before: as the chief of police in Šibenik, my husband always helped young people who had gone astray. For instance, when someone was released from prison, he would take them to the Red Cross to get clothes and help them find a job. Once, Dražen asked me why his dad helped such people if they were bad. I told him that his father was helping them get back on the right path. That’s the kind of man my husband was. Dražen took the best qualities from both his father and me. When he scored 62 points for Real Madrid in Athens, journalists asked him how he managed it. He told them to ask his mother, who drank both salty and sweet water because the Krka River flowed into the lake and mixed with the sea. At home, we laughed about how I drank that well water. All the newspapers in Spain reported it. Dražen was very reserved. The Spaniards described him best: they said he was a devil on the court and an angel in life.

Studying law

“Few people know that my son studied law. The late Professor Šeparović told me that students would come to Dražen’s exams just to see if he actually knew the material or if grades were simply given to him. But he would never take an exam if he wasn’t fully prepared. I can’t imagine him as a lawyer; I see him more as a humanitarian. I don’t think he would have been a coach—he would have done something that involved helping people.

His loves - Renata and Sanja Doležal

“His greatest love was Renata, with whom he was in a relationship for four years. Then there was Sanja Doležal, the singer of Novi Fosili, with whom I still have a good relationship today. Renata was with him both in Madrid and in America. When she left, my husband and I would come to visit. We didn’t want him to feel lonely. When my husband passed away two years ago, Renata reached out to me. She had married a man from Šibenik, a lawyer, the son of Dražen’s first coach, Škarica. It’s as if someone connected everything. A truly miraculous story.

On Dražen and Divac

“People often ask me what happened between Dražen and Vlade Divac in America. They were in contact daily when they first went there. I know that for a fact. Then things started to change. I asked Dražen about it: ‘What’s going on between the two of you? I know you were always in touch.it has nothing to do with politics.’ He replied, ‘I think it has, it’s something to do with the atmosphere around us, not between us personally.’

The First Meeting After the Tragedy

“I must tell you that Divac is an incredibly emotional man. When Jure Zdovc retired from his playing career in Ljubljana, about a year after the tragedy, Divac noticed us on the other side of the arena. He rushed over to us, embraced us so tightly, and couldn’t say a single word. Even now, I get goosebumps thinking about it. When the film Once Brothers was being made, many asked why some friends hadn’t done something similar. Why didn’t you? That film is watched all over the world. Divac donated his fee from the film to Dražen’s foundation. Sports are like one big family. Politics may influence it a bit, but it’s something that enriches the human spirit.

On Success

“Money truly wasn’t important to my Dražen. I’m glad people recognized that. When he and Divac went to the NBA in 1989, people there were amazed at how he didn’t promote himself but instead talked about how the best basketball players in Europe come from the Balkans, especially Dalmatia, because of its rugged terrain. Look at how different things are today and how much Europeans are valued. I’m glad Dražen’s wish came true. He would be happy today.

Final Reflections

“I’m currently writing a book about my life, my childhood, raising my children, and my late husband. The book will be titled Three Lives of One Woman. I often write in my office at the museum when there are no visitors. At the moment, I’m writing about Aleksandar’s life because he inspired many in Šibenik, including his brother, to take up basketball.”

Kurir.rs/ Edited by Lj. R.