FIBA Basketball
SLO – Strong backcourt evident once again for Slovenia
LJUBLJANA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Key men that helped Slovenia book a second straight trip to the FIBA World Championship are not in the 17-man preliminary squad for this summer’s event in Turkey. The Lorbek brothers, Erazem and Domen, and veteran big man Matjaz Smodis – a strong presence in the locker room - will not being ...
LJUBLJANA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Key men that helped Slovenia book a second straight trip to the FIBA World Championship are not in the 17-man preliminary squad for this summer’s event in Turkey.
The Lorbek brothers, Erazem and Domen, and veteran big man Matjaz Smodis – a strong presence in the locker room - will not be playing for new coach Memi Becirovic when the Slovenians compete in Group B of the Preliminary Round against Team USA, Brazil, Croatia, Iran and Tunisia.
The Slovenians will have one of the best backcourts in Istanbul, however, with Goran Dragic (Phoenix), Beno Udrih (Sacramento), national team captain Jaka Lakovic (Regal Barcelona) and Sani Becirovic (Armani Jeans Milano) among those named.
Bostjan Nachbar, one of the heroes in last year’s team that made a surprising run to the EuroBasket Semi-Finals but then suffered narrow defeats to Serbia and Greece to finish without a medal, is included.
Nachbar spent this season with Efes Pilsen in Istanbul.
"The Turks are very interested in basketball and waiting for the World Championship with a lot of joy,” Nachbar said.
“I am sure it will be very well organized.
“I hope that Slovenian fans get a lot of tickets so they can encourage us in big numbers.”
Slovenia were among the best-supported national teams at the EuroBasket in Poland.
A new coach, with Becirovic having replaced Jure Zdovc, and the absence of key players raises questions about how far Slovenia can go this summer.
“I don’t like to speak about our goals so quickly, but I hope and strongly believe that we are able to better than the result from the last World Championship, where we qualified to the Eight-Finals,” Nachbar said.
“We will talk about the goals directly before the championship, when the preparation period is over. However, I believe we will be successful because the motivation is very high."
Slovenia preliminary squad: Jaka Lakovic, Sani Becirovic, Sandi Cebular, Goran Dragic, Zoran Dragic, Jaka Klobucar, Beno Udrih, Samo Udrih, Goran Jagodnik, Dino Muric, Bostjan Nachbar, Uros Slokar, Miha Zupan, Primoz Brezec, Matej Krusic, Hasan Rizvic and Gasper Vidmar. Standby: Mirza Begic, Aleksandar Capin and Marko Vranjkovic.
FIBA
The Lorbek brothers, Erazem and Domen, and veteran big man Matjaz Smodis – a strong presence in the locker room - will not be playing for new coach Memi Becirovic when the Slovenians compete in Group B of the Preliminary Round against Team USA, Brazil, Croatia, Iran and Tunisia.
The Slovenians will have one of the best backcourts in Istanbul, however, with Goran Dragic (Phoenix), Beno Udrih (Sacramento), national team captain Jaka Lakovic (Regal Barcelona) and Sani Becirovic (Armani Jeans Milano) among those named.
Bostjan Nachbar, one of the heroes in last year’s team that made a surprising run to the EuroBasket Semi-Finals but then suffered narrow defeats to Serbia and Greece to finish without a medal, is included.
Nachbar spent this season with Efes Pilsen in Istanbul.
"The Turks are very interested in basketball and waiting for the World Championship with a lot of joy,” Nachbar said.
“I am sure it will be very well organized.
“I hope that Slovenian fans get a lot of tickets so they can encourage us in big numbers.”
Slovenia were among the best-supported national teams at the EuroBasket in Poland.
A new coach, with Becirovic having replaced Jure Zdovc, and the absence of key players raises questions about how far Slovenia can go this summer.
“I don’t like to speak about our goals so quickly, but I hope and strongly believe that we are able to better than the result from the last World Championship, where we qualified to the Eight-Finals,” Nachbar said.
“We will talk about the goals directly before the championship, when the preparation period is over. However, I believe we will be successful because the motivation is very high."
Slovenia preliminary squad: Jaka Lakovic, Sani Becirovic, Sandi Cebular, Goran Dragic, Zoran Dragic, Jaka Klobucar, Beno Udrih, Samo Udrih, Goran Jagodnik, Dino Muric, Bostjan Nachbar, Uros Slokar, Miha Zupan, Primoz Brezec, Matej Krusic, Hasan Rizvic and Gasper Vidmar. Standby: Mirza Begic, Aleksandar Capin and Marko Vranjkovic.
FIBA