Team Profile: Croatia seek a path to redemption

ZAGREB (Croatia) - It doesn't just go up and down with Croatia. It goes all the way up to the Himalayas and all the way down to Marianas Trench.

From the Semi-Finals of FIBA EuroBasket 2013, to disappointment as one of the hosts of FIBA EuroBasket 2015. From upsetting Italy and Greece at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2016 and reaching the Quarter-Finals of the Olympics, to failing to qualify for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

From breezing through as the first nation to qualify for FIBA EuroBasket 2022, to not even making the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers. With stars aligned like that, it sounds like the most Croatian thing to do would be to play the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers and then go on medal hunt a week later at FIBA EuroBasket 2022.

We called them the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of international basketball before FIBA EuroBasket 2017, and the metaphor still stands today. Croatia will try to search for quick redemption after breaking their fans' hearts in July and with Bojan Bogdanovic, Krunoslav Simon, Mario Hezonja, Dario Saric and Ivica Zubac on board, it doesn't sound crazy to consider them a dark horse favorite.

Dario Saric is back to action after his long injury layoff and that boosts Croatia's dark-horse chances

The Croatian Basketball Federation did take a few sharp turns since the elimination from World Cup contention earlier this summer. The board of advisors led by Dino Radja was let go, and with that decision, the doors opened up for Croatia to bring on a naturalized player again. The call went to Jaleen Smith, and it turned into a race with time, trying to get all the paperwork done before the Final Round begins.

Along with the dismissal of Radja and the addition of an American-born Croat, Damir Mulaomerovic made a few surprising cuts. The most notable are Ante Zizic and Dragan Bender, who weren't even on the 16-men list presented at the start of the training camp in early August.

Compared to last year's FIBA OQT roster, Miro Bilan, Roko Leni Ukic, Darko Planinic, Luka Babic, Zeljko Sakic and Antonio Jordano aren't on the list either, signaling an attempt to find something that previous playcaller Veljko Mrsic missed during his time on the sidelines.

Bojan Bogdanovic headlines Croatia's list of current and former NBAers and is once again expected to lead his team in scoring

It starts with a couple of youngsters, Lovro Gnjidic and Roko Prkacin, who are expected to take over the team in years to come, and it continues with one of the most athletic frontline in FIBA EuroBasket 2022, with Karlo Matkovic joining Ivica Zubac under - or above, to be more precise - the rims.

The depth of the team remains an issue, but history proves Croatian players love when you count them out. High hopes brought nothing but disappointment with this team since 1995. Being overlooked and underrated brought a lot of joy at the same time. So don't expect anything from Croatia. Not a single thing.

Maybe that turns out to be the panacea for their 27-year-long medal drought in international basketball. 

 IN THE LAST 10 FIBA EVENTS

YEAR	EVENT	LOCATION	ACHIEVEMENT
2021	Olympics	Tokyo (JPN)	Did not qualify
2019	FIBA Basketball World Cup	Beijing (CHN)	Did not qualify
2017	FIBA EuroBasket	Istanbul (TUR)	10th
2016	Olympics	Rio de Janeiro (BRA)	5th
2015	FIBA EuroBasket	Lille (FRA)	9th
2014	FIBA Basketball World Cup	Madrid (ESP)	10th
2013	FIBA EuroBasket	Ljubljana (SLO)	4th
2012	Olympics	London (GBR)	Did not qualify
2011	FIBA EuroBasket	Kaunas (LTU)	13th
2010	FIBA Basketball World Cup	Istanbul (TUR)	14th

   

HOW DID  QUALIFY: FIBA EUROBASKET 2022 QUALIFIERS - 1st IN GROUP D (4W - 2L)

DATE	GAME	RESULT
21/02/2020	Croatia v Sweden	72-56
24/02/2020	Netherlands v Croatia	59-69
27/11/2020	Croatia v Turkey	79-62
29/11/2020	Sweden v Croatia	72-87
20/02/2021	Croatia v Netherlands	57-65
22/02/2021	Turkey v Croatia	84-78

 

FIBA