ZAGREB (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - With just under four million inhabitants, it is hard to see a nation excel at multiple sports. Unless that nation is Croatia.

Croatian public television (HRT) announced the number of viewers for the national soccer team games at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, suggesting that 1.7 million Croatian citizens were watching the first game against Nigeria. Ratings went through the roof as Ante Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic all scored in a massive 3-0 win over Argentina in Nizhny Novgorod. HRT peaked at unreal 84.9% SHR in age group 18-49, meaning 85 out of 100 adults watching TV in Croatia on Thursday night were enjoying the dismantling of Leo Messi's squad. 

"Ourselves included. We even scheduled our practice sessions so we could watch the games on TV, all of us together," Croatia senior men's national basketball team point guard Rok Stipcevic explained. In a soccer-crazed country, euphoria is a common state of mind.

"We tune in even for the pre-game show. Watching those guys play, you're starting to feel like one of them, and I caught myself thinking: 'Man, us basketball players, we've got to reach the FIBA Basketball World Cup, too!' Just imagine how huge that is, in any sports, considering our overall population," Stipcevic went on, with a lot of pride in his voice.

The 32-year-old playmaker already felt something similar two summers ago. And the road to success led through, of all the places, Italy in a wild FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Turin. Croatia defeated the hosts 84-78 in the Final behind 26 points by Bojan Bogdanovic, and an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double by the tournament MVP Dario Saric to qualify for the Rio 2016 Games.

Both of them will be back in the squad for the last two games of the First Round and another NBA player, Ivica Zubac, is set to make his national team debut during this window.

Croats will hope that history repeats itself as they get on a less-than-two-hour drive from Opatija, Croatia, to Trieste, Italy, for the June 28 rendezvous.

"Memories are coming back. That gives us some additional strength to go on a same kind of run, when we felt the cheers of the whole country. We want to give our fans a trip to another big competition, to show how good we are on the biggest scene," Stipcevic explained.

Croatia have a tough quest ahead of them, with Italy having won the first encounter in Zagreb 80-64 last November. That threw the red-and-white team down to a 1-3 record in Group D, in need of finding their own Rebic, Modric or Rakitic, whilst the Azzurri are on the other side of the scale, enjoying the view from atop the standings at 4-0.

Italians are through to the Second Round, no matter what happens in this third window. However, as all results carry over from the First Round, two more wins could see Italy make a gigantic leap towards a place at the summit in China next year.

FIBA