"The arena is nice. Everything is perfectly okay. We can't wait to start," said the Slovenian head coach, Jure Zdovc, at the first practice in Zagreb, adding: "I think the boys are well-prepared. I have a good feeling. Some are in good form while some are still a bit lost. I hope that the former will keep the form and the latter will get there soon."

Croatia won fourth place at the last championship, which took place in Slovenia. This year the ambitions of Croats, who are hosting one of the groups, are even higher. Their cast looks very strong on paper. "The first match is important but it isn't decisive. Far from it. But we need to assure ourselves of what we've started to believe in during the last few matches: that we're a good team – the emphasis is on 'a team' –, that we're compact and firm, and that we can play against anyone," explains the Slovenian selector.

Concentration will be crucial
There are not health issues in the Slovenian team, Uroš Slokar has fully recovered, too, and can function normally. Due to the absence of Goran Dragić, the role of team captain has been entrusted to Jure Balažić, for whom this will be his third big competition.

At the preparatory matches all 12 basketball players had quite a lot of opportunities to play. The real power of Slovenia is in its team spirit, although some individual players are pillars of the team, with the highest expectations aimed at Zoran Dragić, who has already proven to be a great shooter, second only to his brother Goran, at the last two big competitions.

Tilen Jamnik, MMC;
translated by K. Z.