BELGRADE (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017) – Serbia have appointed a successor to the hugely successful Marina Maljkovic after handing the coaching reins to Stevan Karadzic who will be in the hot-seat for FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017.

The first task for the Olympic bronze medalists will be to successfully defend the historic EuroBasket Women title they famously won two years ago in Budapest under his predecessor, who decided to step down.

While repeating their stellar 2012-2016 Olympic cycle will be incredibly difficult, Karadzic is hoping he can keep the momentum going.

He said: "I think this is a step forward for me in my coaching career and when it comes to ambition, Marina Maljkovic has raised the bar and has achieved some truly incredible results which are hard to reproduce.

"Our team has had many years at the top being amongst the four or five best teams in the big competitions and we aim to keep it that way.

"I already know Jelena Milovanovic from when I worked with her in Sopron, where I was a consultant. I also know the other players well, because these results they were making were all nailed to our screens and I was able to monitor them carefully."

Best known for having coached men’s team Enisey Krasnoyarsk in EuroChallenge during recent years, it isn’t only Karadzic who is new to his role.

Federation President, Predrag Danilovic was also recently installed and he underlined the task in hand for his new head coach – an appointment which may, or may not, be short-term.

He explained: "Following our board meeting, we have all decided, upon recommendation of Ana Jokovic, that the right person to succeed Marina Maljkovic is Stevan Karadzic. I am confident that we have made the right decision."

Jokovic, who serves as Vice-President and is responsible for women's basketball within the Serbian basketball federation, added: "We have had the task to find a person of integrity, who at this point can lead the national team of Serbia and I think that Stevan is the best possible solution.

"We agreed on co-operation for one year, with the possibility of an extension if our team qualifies for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

"Our goal for EuroBasket Women 2017 in the Czech Republic during June is to be a top-five team, secure continuity and continue the success of our women's basketball."

Serbia will play in Group C in Prague where they will face France, Greece and Slovenia.

FIBA