Aleš Pipan replaced the former coach Andrej Žagar, and on the other hand, the players headed by Matjaž Tovornik were joined by new reinforcements, among them Mileta Lisica.

In the 1997–98 season, the club once again finished third in the national league, and also reached the Slovenian Basketball Cup final, which they lost against Union Olimpija.

[2] In the European Cup, Zlatorog competed in the group with Fenerbahçe Ülker, Le Mans, Rīgas ASK, Idea Śląsk Wrocław and ICEC, and finished the qualification games in the 1/16 finals, when the team was defeated by Tofaş.

In the EuroLeague, the club competed in the group with the Italian champions Benetton Treviso, Maccabi Tel Aviv, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, Olympiacos Piraeus and Ülker.

However, in the last game before the playoffs, the injuries of three key players, Mileta Lisica, Gregor Hafnar and Boštjan Nachbar, abruptly terminated the dreams about the national title.