All hands on deck for Bosnia and Herzegovina in qualifying race
SARAJEVO (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Bosnia and Herzegovina are poised to field their strongest roster in recent memory during the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers as the nation's big stars
SARAJEVO (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Bosnia and Herzegovina are poised to field their strongest roster in recent memory during the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers as the nation's big stars, Mirza Teletovic, Jusuf Nurkic and Nihad Dedovic are included on the 24-man preliminary squad which new head coach Damir Mulaomerovic announced on Wednesday.
| Bosnia and Herzegovina preliminary squad | |||
| Edin Atic | Nedim Buza | Haris Delalic | Nihad Dedovic |
| Nikola Gajic | Amar Gegic | Nemanja Gordic | Miralem Halilovic |
| Kenan Karahodzic | Elmedin Kikanovic | Milan Milosevic | Nemanja Mitrovic |
| Dzanan Musa | Jusuf Nurkic | Muhamed Pasalic | Dalibor Persic |
| Imran Polutak | Alex Renfroe | Njegos Sikiras | Andrija Stipanovic |
| Emir Sulejmanovic | Mirza Teletovic | Adin Vrabac | Zack Wright |
The preliminary list also includes young prodigy Dzanan Musa, who had claimed MVP honours at last year's FIBA U16 European Championship and is currently leading Bosnia and Herzegovina in their maiden campaign at the FIBA U17 World Championship.
Teletovic, Nurkic and Dedovic have previously coincided only in September 2012, during the qualification campaign for FIBA EuroBasket 2013. Nurkic was however just 18 years old at the time and featured for limited minutes, albeit he offered glimpses of the solid player who would go on to impress in his rookie NBA season at Denver Nuggets, two years later.
Nurkic was nursing an injury last summer and was unable to help the national team in what was poised to be his first major tournament with Bosnia and Herzegovina, FIBA EuroBasket 2015. The 22-year-old missed part of this season with Denver but returned to action in winter and announced already in May that he would bolster the national team's bid in this summer's Qualifiers.
Teletovic battled through a pulmonary embolism condition that posed a serious threat to his health and kept him sidelined for several months during the 2014/15 season, while he was still at Brooklyn Nets. He returned to action this season, after signing for Phoenix Suns and had an excellent individual season despite his team's struggles in the Western Conference.
And it's @Teletovic33 with the monster rebound to turn around and hit the game winner tonight! #SunsAtBullshttps://t.co/rKOqFt9gCN
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) 8 December 2015
The last time the sharp-shooting forward pulled on the national team jersey, in the summer of 2014, he had averaged a tournament-best 26.3 points per contest during the 2nd Qualification Round to propel his nation to top spot in their group and a berth at FIBA EuroBasket 2015.
The preliminary squad includes, in addition to the star trio, nine of the 12 players who stepped out for Bosnia and Herzegovina in that tournament last September. The only three players from that side not to receive a call-up are veterans Edin Bavcic, Marko Sutalo and Drasko Albijanic. Big men Elmedin Kikanovic and Andrija Stipanovic who had led the team in scoring and rebounds at the last FIBA EuroBasket, are included and expected to step out this summer.
Bosnia and Herzegovina were drawn together with Russia and Sweden in Group C, the only three-team pool in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers which tip off 31 August.
FIBA