LJUBLJANA (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Slovenia head coach Igor Kokoskov has named a 21-strong list of players that will report at training camp for the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers. Preparations will get under way on 20 July while Jaka Blazic and Gasper Vidmar have received permission to join five days later and Miami Heat star Goran Dragic will arrive on 1 August.

Kokoskov has made five cuts from the 27-man preliminary squad he had announced at the start of the summer. Jan Barbaric, Erjon Kastrati, Blaz Mesicek, Aleksej Nikolic, Miha Vasl and young prodigy Luka Doncic have all dropped out of this summer's national team, for a variety of reasons.

"The hardest job a coach has to do is to select among all the guys who have the desire to pull on the national team jersey," said Kokoskov. "We have a slightly longer than usual squad but this will be necessary in order to conduct practice sessions in the optimal way."

"Goran Dragic has always showed a lot of desire and willingness to play for the national team. My short-term desire would be to play him in every quarter of every game. But it is necessary to think about the future and therefore we have a mix of older and younger players. Let me clarify that whenever we field youngsters it will not be an excuse for failure. We are going out to win and winning is our top priority.

"I have tried to put together a squad that will respect the more veteran players who have served for the national team during many years. I would never have invited veterans if I didn't think that they have a role on the team or that they would not have playing time. It is easier for younger players, because any possibility to play on the national team already means a lot to them."

Slovenia will organise a four-nation warm-up tournament in Celje from to 6 August with the participation also of Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Portugal. Kokoskov's men will then take part in a tournament in Vienna, where they will go up against Iceland, Poland and hosts Austria.

Upon their return home, the Slovenians will play host to Great Britain on 20 August. Slovenia were drawn in Group E of the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers which tip-off 31 August, together with Bulgaria, Kosovo and Ukraine.

FIBA