Tir not fazed by lack of experience

CHEKHOV/VIDNOE (2015 FIBA U19 Women's World Championship) - Serbia head coach Zoran Tir isn't overly concerned about having one of the youngest teams in this year's FIBA U19 Women's World Championship.

Only a quarter of his roster for the competition are 1996-born and he will also have to cope without the phenomenal talent of Aleksandra Crvendakic, who played two years ago in Klaipeda.

But the strategy of utilising younger players is a deliberate one, with the majority of his team facing a very specific task of firstly competing on the global stage and then also making a strong bid for the podium at the U18 European Championship Women in Celje later this month.

Last year, the play-caller guided his team to the Semi-Finals, before coming up short in the Third-Place Game against Spain in Matosinhos.

"Because these two competitions almost overlap, we decided to take only three players who are 1996-born, with the remaining nine able to play in Slovenia," explained Tir, who will take his nation into battles against Australia, Brazil and Korea.

"We will be one of the youngest [in Russia], but the quality is always more important than the age of the players.

"During the preparation period, we have played games against older rivals and looked quite good.

"We do not have an imperative outcome for this competition - aside from giving everything in each game and offering our maximum in order to play better.

"In our group we will face teams from three different continents.

"There is also no doubt that all the teams are of a very high quality and that nobody comes to this Championship by accident."

Serbia will look towards Julijana Vojinovic and Aleksandra Katanic to set the tone, with the pair having shared 34 steals at the U18 European Championship Women last year.

Vojinovic also scored more points than anyone else and Katanic dished out an eye-catching three assists per game.

There will also be a considerable hreat posed from three-point range by the likes of Jovana Nogic and Snezana Bogicevic which could catch some opponents cold.

FIBA