TURIN (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - Croatia are going to make their bow at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Turin on Tuesday against hosts and Group B foes, Italy. For Rok Stipcevic, there may be a few cheers since he plays professionally in the Lega A for Banco di Sardegna Sassari.

Stipcevic spoke about the team's bid to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Games after his team's shootaround on the day of the game.

FIBA.com: How are you feeling about the tournament here? Is it easier for you than the other guys since you play professionally in Italy on the island of Sardinia?
Rok Stipcevic: We're starting the second day of the tournament and maybe Italy cut the pressure yesterday because they played at home after a long period being outside the country. It is obviously special to them to play this event in front of their fans (Italy last hosted a major basketball tournament in 1991 when they staged that year's EuroBasket). But we have to play our game.

FIBA.com: What specifically concerns you about Italy's approach to the game?
Rok Stipcevic: We need to stop their transition and their fastbreaks because I think when you play at home, the easiest way to cut the pressure and get the gym fired up is to get fastbreaks and easy baskets.

FIBA.com: Only one of the players in the squad, Roko Ukic, has played at an Olympics before, doing so in 2008. What is the pressure like for the rest of you who are trying to get to the Summer Games?
Rok Stipcevic: It's a dream for all of us and all sportsmen. The dream has to be to participate in the Olympic Games. It's been eight years since we were at an Olympics but it was just London that we missed. Actually we're not thinking about it. We're just thinking about how to win this tournament. Then it would bring us the Olympics. But we are just trying to win this as a competition, to show that we're better than the opponents.

FIBA.com: Legends of Croatia have played at Olympic Games like Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja and the late Drazen Petrovic. Can you imagine experiencing the thrill of going to Rio?
Rok Stipcevic: It's been a dream of mine since I was young.

FIBA: What's the most important thing for the players heading into an OQT in terms of their mental approach?
Rok Stipcevic: You need to play with heart. You also need to have the brain, but if you don't have the heart, your brain can't win on its own. If I had to choose between having one of the two, I would choose heart, first.

FIBA