CRO - Eighteen years later and they're back!

LJUBLJANA (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - It's incredible to think that the homeland of the late Drazen Petrovic, Croatia, had not reached the Semi-Finals of a EuroBasket for 18 years before Thursday.

But that is indeed the truth.

Croatia, a hoops hotbed that also gave the basketball world Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja, hit a drought that only ended when Jasmin Repesa's team beat Ukraine, 84-72.

"We waited for so long," said Croatia sharpshooter Damjan Rudez.

"We have a great basketball tradition in Croatia.

"It's 18 years since we managed to have a significant success, but finally, this generation is showing that we can put Croatia back on the map."

Croatia have been, quite simply, the best team at EuroBasket 2013.

The Balkan side has won eight games in a row.

Roko Leni Ukic has been with the team for a long time.

He made his senior team bow at EuroBasket 2005, when the team reached the Quarter-Finals in Belgrade and very nearly advanced to the last four but lost in a controversy-filled game to Spain.

Croatia lost at the Quarter-Final stage at EuroBaskets 2007 and 2009, while in 2011, the team failed to progress from the First Round.

"This team has better chemistry than any team that I was a part of before," Ukic said.

"We really play hard on defense. We really try on defense.

"No one is looking at the small numbers (player statistics) on the screen, but everyone is looking at the big number (score) and that's the most important thing. On offense, everyone is sharing the ball, everyone is just trying to win the game.

"We have a deep team and you never know who is going to rise that day."

Repesa has improved as a coach, too.

He was good in his first stint as the national team coach, leading the team through a successful qualifying campaign for EuroBasket 2007 and ultimately into the Beijing Olympics, but 2009 was deemed a failure.

Repesa himself firmly believed that team should have won a medal.

"He was our coach in 2009 when we were stopped in the Quarter-Finals (by Slovenia) and we didn't play our best basketball, and for sure, he learned something from that period," Ukic said.

Repesa threw Ukraine out of their stride in the first half on Thursday when he ordered the players into a zone press.

"Coach, like I said from day one, he does a great job of scouting," said Croatia's naturalized guard, Dontaye Draper.

"He's one of the best coaches I've had on detail.

"He gives you everything on the (opposing) players, what they do, lets you know their habits, and we're all focused."

Rudez says Repesa installed the zone press in the preparations.

"It was something that we practiced a lot this summer," he said.

"I think our team is extremely versatile on both offense and defense.

"We demonstrated this against the Ukrainian team. They turned the ball over a couple of times and we managed to score some easy baskets."

There is something else that is helping Croatia.

Their fans live right across the border from Slovenia and many have travelled to watch them at the games.

"The crowd makes a huge difference," Rudez said.

"I'd like to thank this crowd for coming and you saw the gym was really on fire (against Ukraine).

"The Croatian supporters are great fans and hopefully, they'll fill the gym up and we'll have the feeling of playing at home."

By winning against Ukraine, Croatia qualified for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

"We've been to the last World Championship but unfortunately, it didn't turn out very well for us," Rudez said.

"This was one of our goals, to get to the World Cup which is going to be an unbelievably strong competition and it's very important for Croatia to be there. "

Ukic agreed.

"That's the first goal, which was very important," he said.

"But at the same time, we were waiting for this (Semi-Final qualification) for 18 years and I think it would be very bad just now to stop and think this is it.

"I think we need to try and reach something special here."

Rudez and his teammates are in the clouds.

They want to be on the podium come Sunday.

"For sure, we're all living one of the best moments in our careers," Rudez said.

"You can't compare it to any success with a club. The whole country is watching us right now, and they're behind us and we're happy we didn't let them down (against Ukraine). We don't want to let them down in our next game, either."

For full and in-depth coverage of EuroBasket 2013, go to the official website http://www.eurobasket2013.org.

FIBA