ADRIATIC LEAGUE - Players showing off World Cup credentials

ZAGREB (Adriatic League) - All has not been good for Cibona Zagreb this season, a team that has competed in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague in past seasons.

The side has flopped in the Eurocup with just one victory in eight games and parted ways with coach Neven Spahija a few weeks ago.

Cibona though still has plenty to play for under new coach Slaven Rimac.

The club is fourth in the Adriatic League and Croatia international Dario Saric is a big reason why.

Eleven games into the 2013-14 campaign and the 19-year-old Cibona forward is second in the Ranking MVP statistics behind Willie Warren of Szolnoki Olaj.

A player with a powerful 2.06m frame, Saric is eighth in the Adriatic League in scoring (13.9 points per game), first in shooting percentage inside the arc (69.2 percent), third in overall field goal shooting percentage (58.4 percent) and fourth in rebounding (7.5 rebounds per game).

Saric averaged 20.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists for Croatia at the FIBA U19 World Championship in June and then helped the senior team qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup with some dynamic displays at EuroBasket 2013.

More important than individual statistics is the success of the team, and in that regard Saric's Cibona are in good shape.

They are in fourth place - the last position for the end-of-season play-offs.

There is still a long way to go in the 26-game campaign.

Crvena Zvezda Telekom (Red Star) are first in the Adriatic League with a 9-2 record and they have players likely to play at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in their squad.

Giant pivot Boban Marjanovic (2.22m) of Crvena Zvezda has played for Serbia in the past.

The 25-year-old is averaging 12.3 points and eight rebounds and is third in the Ranking MVP.

Veteran center Rasko Katic represented Serbia this summer and has a chance to play at the World Cup.

Katic, who turned 33 on 8 December, is averaging 8.3 points in 17 minutes per game for Crvena Zvezda, who are led by former Montenegro coach Dejan Radonjic.

Twenty-four-year-old Jaka Blazic of Slovenia was a revelation at the EuroBasket and he's averaging 9.7 points with Crvena Zvezda.

At 8-3 and in second place in the Adriatic League are defending champions Partizan Belgrade who have the explosive shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic in their squad.

Sixth in the Ranking MVP, the 1.98m Bogdanovic is fourth in scoring in the competition at 16.4 points per game and eighth in three-point shooting at 38.9 percent.

EuroBasket champion Joffrey Lauvergne of France, a 2.11m center, had a wonderful 2012-13 season with Partizan and is averaging 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds.

The latter of those statistics is sixth best in the competition while his average of 2.6 offensive rebounds ranks fourth overall.

Lauvergne ranks first overall in rebounds at more than 10 per game in the Euroleague.

Dorde Gagic is a 2.11m center in the Partizan squad who played for Serbia this summer and will contend for a place in the World Cup squad.

Partizan are trying to cope without the services of Leo Westermann.

The promising French guard went down with a serious knee injury last month while playing in a Euroleague game at CSKA Moscow.

Cedevita Zagreb, led by Croatia's coach Jasmin Repesa, are third in the standings and they have Marko Tomas but he is almost certain to miss the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

The veteran sharpshooter got hurt shortly before the EuroBasket and wasn't able to play in Slovenia and after starting the season with Cedevita, he went down with a ruptured Achilles in late October.

FIBA