BELGRADE (Serbia) - Boban Marjanovic is a giant center, has played in the NBA since 2015 and donned Serbia's national team shirt, most recently in the European Qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

That, along with the fact that the 2.21m (7ft 3in) Marjanovic is very good, naturally creates the impression that he's a lock to represent his country this summer in China.

So deep and so talented is the roster of the Serbians, however, that 30-year-old Marjanovic assumes nothing when it comes to making the 12-man list for the tournament.

"Yes, I'd like to compete this summer and represent my country in China," Marjanovic said to FIBA.basketball. "It's always good to wear the national team jersey and I always feel proud to represent my country.

"We can build a very competitive group and I'd like to fight for a spot for the final roster for the competition. The competition for a spot on the final roster is going to be very intense because a lot of players can make it to the last 12 guys."

“WE CAN'T TAKE QUALIFICATION FOR THE NEXT ROUND FOR GRANTED. WE'LL HAVE TO COMPETE AND BRING THE SAME ENERGY NO MATTER WHO WE PLAY AGAINST.”- Marjanovic

Coach Aleksandar Djordjevic certainly appears to have more talent and experience at his disposal than at any other time during his time at the helm, which began in 2014 when he led Serbia to a surprise spot in the Final.

That team had some impressive results, including blowout wins over previously unbeaten Greece in the Round of 16, and over Brazil in the Quarter-Finals. 

Marjanovic was not a part of that team yet he was among Serbia's biggest fans, pulling for them from start to finish.

He says Serbia, who also captured a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics and finished runners-up at FIBA EuroBasket 2017, will of course aim high.

"We want to reach the Semi-Finals and fight for the Final to maybe get a shot for the gold medal," he said. "We'll go to the World Cup with a lot of ambition, and we're going to China with the goal to show once again that we are one of the best teams in the world. I hope that everybody's going to be very healthy. Everyone is very excited about the possibility of having another great run this summer.

"Serbia is a great nation of basketball, and we want to keep making our countrymen proud. The tournament is going to be very competitive, but we can go far in the competition as we have a lot of talent and a lot of experience."

Marjanovic, in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 team that fell to Slovenia in the title game, only played in two European Qualifiers for Serbia, against Georgia and Germany, yet was influential in both.

Serbia had their struggles and only qualified for the World Cup with a victory over Israel in their last game.

In the First Round at the World Cup, they'll compete against Italy, Angola and Philippines in Group D. With a top-two finish, they would advance to Second Round Group J and face the countries that finish first and second in a Group C that consists of Spain, Puerto Rico, Tunisia and Iran. A top-two finish in that Second Round pool would punch Serbia's ticket to the Quarter-Finals.

While their draw certainly could have been tougher, Marjanovic says that's not something he or his teammates should think about.

“TO GO FAR IN A TOURNAMENT, YOU HAVE TO COMPETE AGAINST EVERY TEAM THAT CROSSES YOUR PATH, NO MATTER IF THEY ARE TOP TEAMS OR NOT.”- Marjanovic

"To go far in a tournament like the FIBA Basketball World Cup, you have to compete and not start anticipating who you are going to play against," Marjanovic said. "You just have to play at your best level and win all the games to reach a medal or the title.

"To go far in a tournament, you have to compete against every team that crosses your path, no matter if they are top teams or not. You have to respect all opponents, and play to win against whoever you compete against. Playing against top teams is a very good thing, and we aren't afraid of any team. We respect all the teams, but we also know our talent and we're ambitious."

Marjanovic played for the Serbia team that reached the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Final in Istanbul

Marjanovic, looking ahead to the Group D games, is cautiously optimistic.

"It's a great group, and it's going to be very interesting to compete against some teams that we don’t know that much about," he said. "We know Italy and we all know that it’s a very competitive team, but I don't know that much about Angola and the Philippines. We'll have to play the same way to win every game in the first round, and we have to stay focused and bring the same intensity against every opponent.

"We can't take qualification for the next round for granted. We'll have to compete and bring the same energy no matter who we play against."

He then smiled and said: "So many surprises are possible in a competition like this, and we don't want to become one, in a bad way."

FIBA