SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Bosnia and Herzegovina are making their 11th appearance at the FIBA EuroBasket this summer. And the they would love to re-live the experience from their debut back in 1993 - the only time they finished in the top eight.
After missing the 2017 edition, Bosnia and Herzegovina were back on the continental stage in 2022 in Germany. The Dragons defeated Hungary and Slovenia but then lost their final game to Lithuania to miss a chance to advance from the group stage for the first time since 1993.
Jusuf Nurkic, Dzanan Musa and their teammates will have that loss on their mind when fight to finally feel the experience of playing in the knockout stage again.
Schedule
August 28: vs Cyprus (17:15 CET) August 30: vs Spain (20:30 CET) August 31: vs Italy (20:30 CET) September 2: vs Greece (14:00 CET) September 4: vs Georgia (14:00 CET)
Star Player
Jusuf Nurkic makes up with Dzanan Musa the heart and soul of this Bosnia and Herzegovina team. This will be the center's second FIBA EuroBasket and actually only his second major event - having participated in qualifying campaigns for two EuroBaskets, two FIBA Basketball World Cups and the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2023 Poland-Estonia.
The Charlotte Hornets big manjust completed his 11th season in the NBA, still a major contributor as he turns 31 on August 23. He is always a threat for a double-double with his size but he also can pass the ball. Nurkic will not win a three-point shooting contest but he cannot be left alone on the outside.
Nurkic delivered a double-double average of 15.4 points and 10 rebounds plus 3 assists per game in the 2023 Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament. The Dragons know they will have a chance to finally break their streak of not advancing if Nurkic can produce like that again in Cyprus.
History
Bosnia and Herzegovina were there in 2022 too, getting two wins in five games, but not advancing as Lithuania had the head-to-head going their way in Group B in Cologne, Germany. BIH finished 18th in their 10th FIBA EuroBasket appearance, still unable to repeat their best result, from their maiden event back in 1993. Dino Bilalovic led them to eighth spot back then as the tournament top scorer with 24.6 points per game to his name. Since the format changed in 2015, they have not made the Round of 16 yet.
Best finish: 8th in 1993
EuroBasket Top Scorers
Rank | Player | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mirza Delibasic | 30 | 348 |
2 | Sabahudin Bilalovic | 9 | 217 |
3 | Mirza Teletovic | 13 | 195 |
4 | Mario Primorac | 12 | 192 |
5 | Nenad Markovic | 11 | 182 |
6 | Samir Avdic | 14 | 170 |
7 | Gordan Firic | 20 | 157 |
8 | Elmedin Kikanovic | 15 | 154 |
9 | Jasmin Hukic | 12 | 153 |
10 | Nihad Djedovic | 10 | 142 |
How they qualified
Gameday 1: CYP 66-99 BIH Gameday 2: BIH 64-74 FRA Gameday 3: CRO 89-76 BIH Gameday 4: BIH 110-90 CRO Gameday 5: BIH 108-62 CYP Gameday 6: FRA 76-74 BIH
Poll: Where will they finish?
Tickets
FIBA