Djordjevic calls Serbian team mixed with youngsters, returnees
BELGRADE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Four players 21 years or younger have been named in Serbia's 24-man preliminary squad for the World Cup Qualifiers.
BELGRADE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Serbia head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic has included a number of young talents and returnees in his 24-player preliminary squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers.
Djordjevic nominated seven players from the national side that finished runners-up at FIBA EuroBasket 2017, including Stefan Jovic and Milan Macvan, who play for him at Bayern Munich, and Stefan Bircevic of Istanbul BB.
The head coach also is considering giving some of the country's top youngsters a chance at the World Cup Qualifiers, which will see Serbia host Austria on November 24 and Georgia on November 27 - both games taking place at the Aleksandar Nikolic Arena in Belgrade.
| Serbia's preliminary squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers | |||
| Aleksa Avramovic | Stefan Bircevic | Nemanja Dangubic | Ilija Djokovic |
| Djordje Gagic | Marko Guduric | Nikola Jovanovic | Stefan Jovic |
| Branko Lazic | Sava Lesic | Milan Macvan | Vanja Marinkovic |
| Vasilije Micic | Dragan Milosavljevic | Nikola Milutinov | Dejan Musli |
| Nemanja Nedovic | Ivan Paunic | Stefan Peno | Aleksa Radanov |
| Miroslav Raduljica | Marko Simonovic | Milenko Tepic | Dejan Todorovic |
Eight of the 24 players would be making their senior national team debut if they play against Austria or Georgia. Four of them are 21 years old or younger. The 20-year-old pair of Vanja Marinkovic and Stefan Peno were nominated as was 21-year-old Ijija Djokovic and 19-year-old Aleksa Radanov.
Djordjevic is also calling on a quartet of players who haven't been with the national team for some time. Djordje Gagic last played for Serbia at FIBA EuroBasket 2013 while Ivan Paunic, Milenko Tepic and Dejan Musli have not represented their country since the FIBA EuroBasket 2013 Qualifiers.
FIBA