NYMBURK (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Jaromir Bohacik got his first taste of big-time international basketball last summer when he played for the Czech Republic at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 in Romania.

The 25-year-old forward has become one of coach Ronen Ginzburg's most important players in the World Cup Qualifiers, averaging a team-high 17.8 points in four games across the November and February windows.

The 6ft 6in (1.97m) Bohacik is shooting better than 61 percent (11 of 18) from three-point range, helping the Czechs to victory in three of their four outings (3-1) to top Group F ahead of Iceland, Finland (both 2-2) and Bulgaria (1-3).

Bohacik spoke to FIBA.basketball about the Qualifiers. 

What are your thoughts on being able to play for your country?
Obviously, it's a dream. When I was younger, it was always something I wanted to achieve, to make the national team and play with the best guys in our country.

"WHEN YOU'RE A MEMBER OF THE STARTING FIVE OF YOUR NATIONAL TEAM AND YOU PLAY AGAINST THE BEST FROM THE OTHER COUNTRIES, IT REALLY BOOSTS YOUR CONFIDENCE AND THAT'S WHAT I NEEDED. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE JUNE WINDOW ALREADY" BohacikBohacik

Tell us about all the responsibility that you've had in the Qualifiers.
I'm still the freshman of our national team, my second season in the national team. Before, I wasn't really in the 12. It's still new for me and also especially with Tomas Satoransky (Washington Wizards) missing, I'm the main creator of our team. Now I'm getting a lot of minutes and it's a great opportunity to show that we still have a great team.

Has playing for the national team helped your confidence grow and been a boost for your career?
Yes, for sure. Confidence is so important in our game. When you're a member of the starting five of your national team and you play against the best from the other countries, it really boosts your confidence and that's what I needed. I'm looking forward to the next window already.

"IT'S LIKE OLD FRIENDS COMING BACK TOGETHER FOR SOME TRIP BECAUSE WE'VE REALLY KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR SOME TIME ALREADY. IT'S A REALLY GOOD ATMOSPHERE AND I THINK EVERYONE IN OUR TEAM LOOKS FORWARD TO EVERY NATIONAL TEAM WINDOW" BohacikBohacik

You played at EuroBasket but that was away in Romania. Now you're getting a chance to play the Qualifiers in the Czech Republic.
That's something special because the whole arena is right behind you. You know that all the people show up because of our team. All our fans in Pardubice, a big ice hockey arena. It's a big basketball city so people really know basketball. What's most important is our families, our friends, and all the people we know and especially the people that have worked with us to get better and better. So I'm really happy that we can show ourselves in front of our home crowd.

What has the experience of linking up with your national team in the middle of the club season been like so far?
We had a really tough schedule and especially with my club, CEZ Nymburk. And suddenly, there is one week when we need to play two games with the national team. But I have to say the atmosphere in our national team is totally different. It's like old friends coming back together for some trip because we've really known each other for some time already. So it's a really good atmosphere and I think everyone in our team looks forward to every national team window.

Are Czechs becoming more interested in basketball because of the national team?
I think so and I hope so, also. I need to say that especially the previous EuroBasket (2015), when the guys were playing really well and had a big success, we kind of felt that people really cared about basketball and more and more people were getting involved. And especially now that we have an NBA player in Tomas Satoransky and Jan Vesely is playing great for Fenerbahce, so these two guys are doing a lot for Czech basketball.

Bohacik had 24 points as the Czechs won at Bulgaria in February

Why did you choose to play basketball?
I played soccer when I was really young but I have an older brother, Petr, and he's pretty tall. He's like 6ft 8in (2.05m) and he plays in our first division and they recruited him as a big guy for a basketball team. They said, 'You're tall, you need to play basketball.' Me, as a younger brother, I had to follow in his footsteps and found out it was fun so I stayed with it.

Do you allow yourself to think about 'what if we qualify for the World Cup'?
As our coach has told us a lot, we need to focus on every game. We, as the Czech Republic, are known for different sports, we're not a big basketball country. We're not focusing on the World Cup, we just need to take it game by game. It's like something really far away.

FIBA