REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - The stars have never been aligned better than they are right now for Serbia to finally make the Olympics given the Serbs will have some home cooking and the drive of young ballers to get them to Rio.

It's hard to believe that Serbia, with all their tradition, have never reached the Olympics in men's basketball, but the last time the country played at the Summer Games was at Athens 2004 under the flag of Serbia and Montenegro.

But there's a great chance that can finally change this summer. Why the reason for optimism? Well, first off, Aleksandar Djordjevic's team will have the benefit of the home fans and home cooking as Serbia were announced as one of the hosts of the three FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) taking place from 4-10 July.

As a country, Serbia is well known for its passionate fans. There’s no doubt that the Belgrade Arena will be packed for each of the home team's OQT games. And the knowledgeable Serbian fans will also make sure they root against the teams that most challenge their beloved men’s team’s chances of making it to Rio.

Serbian fans in general and Belgrade fans in particular certainly create a fantastic atmosphere. The crowds are so intense and will undoubtedly have an impact on the teams that face Serbia this summer.

In light of the FIBA decision, Serbian center Miroslav Raduljica called the Belgrade Arena a fortress on Twitter, saying: "Our fortress. We are waiting for you."

The U18 European Championship took place in Belgrade in 2005 but that was before the EuroBasket in the same year, and Serbia has not hosted another major men's basketball event since.

Serbia's captain, Milos Teodosic, who was coincidently on the U18 Serbia & Montenegro team that won the title in 2005, was excited about playing the OQT at home and said on the Serbian federation's website that "the crowd will be our advantage over the opponents."

Besides the fact that Serbia will be playing in front of their home fans, they will also be familiar with their surroundings, many of the players coming from Belgrade. On top of all that, they will also have a darn good team.

After suffering three losses in the group play at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Serbia raced through the knockout stages in Spain with wins over previously undefeated Greece and then Brazil before surprising France in the Semi-Finals to reach the Final against the United States and finish second.

At EuroBasket 2015, the Serbians' bond with second-year coach Djordjevic grew even stronger and they blasted past the supposed Group of Death with five group stage victories over Spain, Germany, Island, Turkey and Italy - with only the two-point win over Germany a close game.

Finland and Czech Republic were then dusted aside by 13 and 14 points respectively before Serbia finally were beaten - against Lithuania in the Semi-Finals. That defeat not only ended Serbia's title run but it also meant they would have to go through the OQTs in order to reach Rio 2016.

As one could imagine, there will be great competition within Serbia's group to get into Djordjevic's final 12 that will play in Belgrade in July, knowing they could then play at the Olympics. It's interesting to note that only seven players from Serbia's 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup team played at EuroBasket 2015.

Djordjevic will also have a group of youngsters who will be fighting hard against the veteran players to be in the team. Two of them have already played for the senior side. Nikola Milutinov, who just turned 21 last month, played at EuroBasket 2015 but the center will have to fight hard for his spot at the OQTs. He has been playing well with Olympiacos, with whom he has four double-digit scoring games in the Greek league and one in the Euroleague this season. Djordjevic is also not that far away as the coach of Olympiacos' main rivals, Panathinaikos.

Vasilije Micic, meanwhile, will be looking to make an impression on Djordjevic, for whom he has not yet played. The point guard was on the EuroBasket 2013 team under Dusan Ivkovic but did not play for the national team the last two summers. Micic, who turns 22 next month, had been struggling with injury and playing time with Bayern Munich this season. However, since moving on loan from the German powers to Serbian club Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade, the playmaker has been playing much better.

Two other youngsters who could make at least the training camp roster are Nikola Jankovic and Marko Guduric. Jankovic will also turn 22 in February and is back in Serbia with Mega Leks Belgrade after a productive three seasons in the Belgian top flight. The power forward also was named the MVP of the 2015 Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso.

Guduric is a fundamentally sound guard who was named the MVP of the 2015 U20 European Championship as Serbia won a first title at that level since 2008. Guduric, who turns 21 in March, has done well since his off-season move from FMP Zeleznik to Crvena Zvezda, with whom he is averaging 6.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists and hitting 40 percent of his three-pointers in 15 minutes a game in the Euroleague.

With the young players pushing the veterans in training camp and then eventually the home fans there to push them at the OQT, Serbia definitely appear set up for a good chance of making their first ever trip to the Olympics.

David Hein

FIBA

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