PHOENIX (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - Rising Croatia star Dragan Bender firmly believes the medal drought for his country is about to end.

Led by Dario Saric and Bojan Bogdanovic, Croatia won the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Turin to clinch a spot in the Rio de Janeiro Games and then beat Spain, Brazil and Lithuania en route to first place in Preliminary Round Group B. The team fell out of medal contention after a narrow defeat to Balkan rivals Serbia in the Quarter-Finals but the summer of 2016 was viewed as a positive one for Croatian basketball.

Bender, getting his feet wet in the NBA as a 19-year-old rookie with the Phoenix Suns, had an operation last week to remove a bone spur from his right ankle and is going to be out of action for several weeks. Before that surgery, he spoke to FIBA.com about his national team's prospects and his first year in the world's top league.

Is it a goal for you to play at FIBA EuroBasket 2017?
Yes, definitely. I played at youth level for the national team where I was always fighting for a medal and I want to live that special atmosphere again and experience that competitiveness that you feel when you reach the last stages of a tournament, when you are getting closer to the medals.

Croatia bounced back from a disappointing FIBA EuroBasket 2015 in grand style last year by winning an OQT under coach Aco Petrovic and finishing fifth at the Rio de Janeiro Games. What do you think of the players in the set-up?
First of all, I think we have a very young team. Looking back to last year, I think that they did an amazing job with the coach, they played great. They showed everybody that Croatia can play at the highest level and be a great national team. With these young guys coming up, we are going to have much more of a rotation, adding some spark and energy on the floor. Both Dario Saric (Philadelphia 76ers) and Bojan Bogdanovic (Brooklyn Nets) are having great seasons so far. They're going to be our leaders in the national team. All of the young guys, including myself, are just going to follow them and do everything we need to do on the court to try to win the games. We have a great future, I think that everyone is going to be really involved and wanting to help the national team. We are going to be a great defensive team with all those big guys we have. I'm looking forward to playing with those guys and the national team.

Talking about the young players, you're a part of the 1997-born generation, which is loaded with talent, including Ivica Zubac and Ante Zizic. Marko Arapovic was born a year earlier. What do you think about the international tournaments coming up for the national team?
I think we have a great future. We have to keep being together and working hard as we have been doing so far. All those guys are great. Zizic got drafted last year (by Boston) and is having a great season in Europe. He is going to be in the NBA next year and I'm really looking forward to that. Having so many young talents that can play at senior level is very good for the national team. It's going to be fun in the future, that's for sure.

What are Croatia's prospects at FIBA EuroBasket 2017, where you'll play in Group C in Cluj-Napoca against Spain, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary?
To win a medal in this kind of championship is a goal for us. We have to look forward to the competition, win as many games as we can and try to put ourselves in a position where we can win a medal. Croatia is a great basketball nation and has a great basketball history by winning medals in the past. Those successful times are coming back soon, I'm sure about this.

You jumped to the NBA's Suns after not playing as much as you wanted at Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2015-16 season. What happened in Israel?
Last year was different for me for a simple reason: we started losing games. For big teams like Maccabi, when you start losing games, everything changes for the young players. The team fights for the title and to be competitive in European competitions, so it's hard for young guys to have minutes when the team isn't in a winning dynamic. Here in Phoenix, we have a young team and I'm getting some minutes. The staff and the coaches are trying to always find some minutes for us, the young players.

You're averaging about 13 minutes per game this season. Do you consider things are going well and is this helping you develop your game?
I feel pretty good so far. I'm learning when I get my minutes on the court, I'm improving on defense and everything else, and I love it so far. It's a different style from what I was used to in Europe. Players are different and that makes the game different. So far, I love it.

FIBA