Petrovic Mourned in Croatia by Crowd of More Than 6,000

More than 6,000 people turned out in Zagreb’s main sports arena Thursday to applaud one last time for Drazen Petrovic, the Croatian basketball star killed in an auto accident.

There were also tears as a big screen showed highlights of Drazen’s play, including his performances with the New Jersey Nets as one of the NBA’s top shooting guards.

Drazen, 28, was known as the “Mozart of Basketball” among his Croatian fans.

“He was a winner, except on that damned Monday, when he did not have a chance to reverse defeat into victory,” said Mirko Novosel, a scout for the Croatian national team.

Said Mladen Jelic, a 15-year-old fan: “I made my daily itinerary according to his games. What shall I do now?”

Petrovic was riding in a car driven by his girlfriend when it skidded out of control on a rain-slick German autobahn on Monday and crashed into a truck blocking the road. He was killed instantly.

He will be buried today in Zagreb. Most of Croatia’s leading citizens, including President Franjo Tudjman, are expected to be at the funeral.