Teodosic hungry for Serbia's first Olympic berth

MOSCOW (2016 Rio Olympics) - Serbia have never played at the Olympic Games under their current flag, with their last appearance coming as part of Serbia and Montenegro in 2004.

Milos Teodosic is eager for that to change and ideally to have that quest begin on home soil, with his country hosting one of next year's three FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs).

The Serbs reached the Semi-Finals at the last two editions of the FIBA Basketball World Cup but failed to qualify for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. After their second-place finish at Spain 2014, Teodosic and company seemed ready to reach the title game at EuroBasket 2015 Final but got tripped up by Lithuania in the semis. They now hope to reach Rio 2016 by winning one of the OQTs.

It [the OQTs] is a great opportunity for teams who could not get the spots from EuroBasket and other tournaments to have another chance to get to the Olympics. This is a dream for all of us - to go to the Olympics. My generation has never been to the Olympics. - Teodosic

While he is currently starring for Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow, the 1.95m playmaker still thinks about playing in Brazil next summer and says he and his teammates will be ready for the OQTs which take place from 4-10 July, 2016. 

"We are thinking about it, and we will have a long season and we will not have time to rest. We immediately have to go and play, but we will be ready to play for our country," he said.

Teodosic was happy that the Serbian Basketball Federation submitted a bid to host one of the OQTs, with the other bidders being Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Philippines and Turkey. 

It would be great [if Serbia could host one of the OQTs]. The gym would be full. People in Serbia love basketball. I think if we play in Belgrade we would have a better chance to go to the Olympics. - Teodosic

The 28-year-old also shared his thought about FIBA's new competition system - which comes into effect in 2017 and will see windows during which national teams will play to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He is anxious to see how it all works out but is eager for more people to be able to watch the Serbian national team play.

It will be nice to not just play in the summer for the national team but also during the season. A lot of people are on vacation [during the summer] and cannot watch the games. - Teodosic

Teodosic is quick to offer another valuable reason to play for his country, aside from the national pride. 

"Playing for the national team helps each player to have confidence, especially if you play good and go far in that championship," he said. "Playing for the national team gives me more confidence every year. I really enjoy national team play."

FIBA