Almost time for a Slovenian toga party

KRANJSKA GORA (The Friday Eurovision) - Canada and Korea got some awful news this week.

More Slovenia players got hurt or stated their “unavailability” for the national team with the country going into the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Bad news for Group C opponents Canada and Korea? You bet it is.

Remember last year in Spain, when a host of big names didn’t play for one reason or another, and Slovenia were supposed to be the whipping boys of the tournament?

Well, there was some whipping going on all right. But it was Slovenia handing out the lashes, beating Italy, Poland and France in group play before hammering, no destroying Turkey and Germany in the quarter-final qualifying round.

Slovenia lost to Lithuania, and then suffered an almighty late collapse against Greece in the quarter-finals, but ultimately bounced back to beat Tony Parker and France in the battle for seventh place.

So Slovenia have lost the initiative now that Matjaz Smodis has a foot injury, Gasper Vidmar a broken hand and Erazem Lorbek a sore back?

Don’t believe it for a second.

Slovenia won’t win because center Primoz Brezec won’t represent his country in what could be their finest hour?

Forget about it!

The Slovenians are doomed because Beno Udrih and Bostjan Nachbar can’t play because they are free agents in the NBA and need to find new teams?

No, no, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I wonder what Slovenia captain Rasho Nesterovic told his teammates after Thursday’s press conference. Rasho wasn’t looking too happy in an interview he gave to www.fiba.basketball (http://www.fiba.basketball/pages/eng/fc/inte/vide/inte/p/cp//eventid//langid/1/newsid/26229/roundid//inte.html)

Here’s what I think he did.

I bet he pulled a page out of Bluto’s book in Animal House.

“Nothing is over until we decide it is,” Bluto (John Belushi) famously shouted!

He then said, “TO-GA, TO-GA, TO-GA, TO-GA!” and the world was never the same again.

While Rasho won’t be calling for a Toga party, he has spoken with conviction and firmness this summer, which is why he is the ideal man to lead his country.

“We talk too much about the players who are not with us,” Nesterovic said to the assembled media on Thursday.

“Those who wanted to play are here. We all know that Gasper and especially Matjaz will be hard to replace, but we were in a similar position before the EuroBasket in Spain.

“We had very few guards then, now we are short of power forwards and centers. But why wouldn’t we surprise once again, like we did in Spain when everybody predicted for us a terrible outcome?”

Something tells me that Slovenia, who still have great players and a solid coach in Ales Pipan, are going to be galvanized by the difficult situation they find themselves in.

And if they claim one of three places up for grabs for the Beijing Games at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, then you can expect a toga party.