VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - Jiri Welsch and Lubos Barton are in the twilight of their basketball careers.

They are living every moment on the court as if it could be the last.

The Czech Republic veterans, for so long in the EuroBasket wilderness because of the difficulty in qualifying for the tournament, stopped the rot two years ago when they played in Celje, Slovenia, and will very soon run onto the floor to feature for the national team in Group D of this year's edition of the event in Riga.

Each is 35 years of age.

And each has unfinished business, particularly when remembering how close the Czechs came a couple of years ago to advancing from the opening round group.

The tournament might have been very different for the Czechs had they not missed nine of their 15 free-throws on opening night against Slovenia, and had Barton been able to score in the final seconds of that clash.

"We got a little bit unlucky at the end, one call," Barton said at the time. "Who knows [what could have happened]."

As it was, the Czechs bounced back with victories over Poland and Georgia and could have advanced with a triumph in their last game against Croatia.

Jan Vesely, the best athlete in the Czech squad, endured one of free-throw horror show.

He shot a Shaq-like 1-of-10, and Croatia pulled away for a 70-53 win.

Welsch was nowhere near his best at EuroBasket 2013.

A former shooting guard in the NBA with Cleveland and Boston, he made just six of his 30 (20 percent) shot attempts in five games.

The two are in the thick of the Czechs' preparations now.

The coach is no longer Pavel Budinsky, who did a good job at the helm but wasn't retained.

Instead, Ronen Ginzburg is at the helm.

Ginzburg did a fine job last summer when a Czech side without the rebounding and dunking machine Vesely made it safely through the 2nd Qualification Round.

The Czechs lost their opening four games in this summer's preparations before winning 86-71 against Japan earlier this week.

Welsch, with all of his experience, knows exactly what has to happen for the team to realize its potential and progress from a Group D in Riga that also includes Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belgium and Ukraine.

First and foremost, it is necessary for us to clarify roles in the team. - Welsch

"Of course, there are two big stars, Thomas Satoransky and Vesely.

"Both are pillars of the team.

"But the rest are still good players.

"It is 12 players and so some cannot play [many minutes]... what they are accustomed to doing at their clubs.

"In this way, we must make clear that we are ready as a team."

The Czechs will do well to be one of the top four sides in Group D and advance to the next round.

Lithuania may be the favorites and Latvia will like their chances with the home crowd behind them, but overall, there is parity in the pool.

The Czechs have as good a chance as any of their opponents to progress.

And if they do, who knows? This is a squad that has terrific talents, or pillars as Welsch called them.

Vesely plays for Fenerbahce and Satoranksy for Barcelona, clubs that are Euroleague heavyweights.

Vesely has played in the NBA while Satoransky was drafted No. 32 overall by the Washington Wizards in 2012.

These are players that are fearless, players that want to go up against the best.

The Czech Republic promise to have an interesting team.

Hungry after their near miss of two years ago, and talented, the Czechs have a lot of cause for optimism.

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

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