CRO - Croatia keen to try new ideas

ZADAR (FIBA World Championship) - Croatia will host a pre-FIBA World Championship warm-up tournament this week with coach Josip Vrankovic keen to try out several new looks his team have been working on.

The tournament in Zadar will feature Russia, Jordan and New Zealand, and Vrankovic has been using the build-up to implement several adjustments into his team's playbook.

"At previous tournaments in Cyprus and Germany, we have played well, but there were certain variations we have worked on in Zadar," he said.

Vrankovic was keen to host a tournament, rather than travel to one, as he believes the combination of less travel and home support will allow his team to go into the FIBA World Championship in the best possible condition.

"At all costs I wanted to avoid another tournament abroad before we head to Turkey," he said.

"I felt that Zadar, as a basketball city, would provide good conditions for the players to be well prepared and to feel the support of the fans."

Croatia have suffered from several niggling injuries of late, but Vrankovic indicated the affected players were on the road to recovery.

"Roko Ukic will be out for the next few days after pulling out of the tournament in Bamberg," he said. "We are not going to force the situation for this tournament, but maybe he will play in the final game.

"Ante Tomic has recovered, but he is not yet in top form. For (Zoran) Planinic, he may sit out this tournament, which we planned on, but if his health permits he will be with us.

"However, he will only be there to help the other point guards because he cannot be a leader on this team at the moment."

FIBA