MKD – Lazovski: ‘Respect for all opponents a must’

SKOPJE (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – It remains to be seen if Marjan Lazovski has taken over as coach of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at the right time.

Marin Dokuzovski, Lazovski’s predecessor, guided FYROM to new heights last year, a first-ever appearance in the Semi-Finals at a EuroBasket.

The Balkan country upset tournament hosts Lithuania in the last eight in Kaunas in one of the most exciting games ever played in international basketball.

The win assured FYROM of a spot in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caracas, Venezuela, and left the fans sky high.

But higher expectations often makes a coach’s job tougher.

FYROM will not be able to sneak up on any opponents.

At the OQT, FYROM will go up against Angola and New Zealand in Group D.

“The opponents in the first round in Venezuela are not attractive names in the world of basketball,” Dokuzovski said, “but we must not be fooled because they are strong teams.

“We will have to give our best and more if we want to be in London.”

FYROM, with a win, would go into a Quarter-Final against the Dominican Republic, Korea or Russia.

Should they win that game, then a victory in the Semi-Final would put Lazovski’s team into the Olympics.

The losers of the two Semi-Finals will play each other for the third and last spot at the London Games.

Lazovski will rely on the majority of the players that did so well in Lithuania last year.

“There is no need for big transformations of the roster, but I will for certainly include Kiril Nikolovski (center) in the final squad,” he said.

“Bojan Trajkovski (power forward) will have his chance in the preparation period.

“Aleksandar Kostovski (point guard) has the opportunity to be named in the final 12 as well due to the fact that we lack players at the playmaker position.”

FIBA