MOSCOW (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – There was a notable change in the air as the 17-strong Russian preliminary squad that has been selected by head coach Sergey Bazarevich gathered in Novogorsk, near Moscow, at the weekend to commence preparations for the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers.

For the first time in three years, Russia's training camp gets under way with all their big stars present and without injuries or other unforeseen circumstances forcing them to modify the squad. The change in mood in the Russian camp is palpable as Timofey Mozgov, Aleksey Shved and Sergey Karasev have not only committed to the national team's summer campaign but have already joined their team-mates from the first training session in Novogorsk.

"It will be a big test for all of us but let's move step by step, so the first thing we need is to get to EuroBasket 2017." - Mozgov

Mozgov, who signed with Los Angeles Lakers last month after winning the 2016 NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, had last suited up for Russia during the FIBA EuroBasket 2015 2nd Qualifying Round (in summer 2014) but missed out on the big event itself, last September.

Shved returned home to Khimki Moscow Region in the 2015/16 season following his three-year stint in the NBA. The charismatic guard had last played for the national team at FIBA EuroBasket 2013, where he led Russia in scoring with 16.4 points per contest. Meanwhile Karasev, who has also just finished his spell in the NBA and signed with Zenit St. Petersburg last month, had pulled on the Russian jersey for three consecutive summers but did not step out at FIBA EuroBasket 2015.

Interestingly, Karasev had made his senior national debut as a 19-year-old at London 2012, which was an immensely successful event for Russia but also marked the start of a three-year period in which the national team's progress stalled, in the view of Mozgov.

"After the bronze medal at the London Olympics, everything came down," the Lakers center told Russian reporters at the weekend. "We have had to build something new all over again not on top of the ruins, but an entirely new house on the side. It will take us time, but the Russian national team is now aiming at rejuvenation. It will be a big test for all of us but let's move step by step, so the first thing we need is to get to EuroBasket 2017."

In addition to Russia's trio of current and former NBA players, Bazarevich counts this summer on veteran sharp-shooting guard Vitaly Fridzon, who led Russia in scoring at FIBA EuroBasket 2015 with 15 points per game. However versatile forward Andrey Vorontsevich, who had led the team in rebounds and blocked shots in the 2015 event, is battling an injury and it is yet unclear whether he will be able to join preparations at a later stage.

Meanwhile 33-year-old shooting guard Sergey Bykov returns to the national team this summer following a four-year absence and is the most veteran player on the list of coach Bazarevich since Sergey Monya, who had served as Russia's captain after Andrei Kirilenko and Viktor Khryapa called it a day, decided to retire from international duty.

Russia will go up against Belarus and Georgia next weekend, in their first warm-up games of the summer. Bazarevich's men were drawn in Group C of the FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers which tip-off 31 August, together with Sweden, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

FIBA