SRB – Ivkovic – ‘Krstic a natural choice for Serbia captain’

BELGRADE (EuroBasket 2009) - Serbia coach Dusan Ivkovic showered praise on veteran center Nenad Krstic after revealing he had been made captain of the national team.

Krstic, the only NBA player in this year's squad, will play a vital role for the Blues as they attempt to claim one of the six spots available for next year's FIBA World Championship at the upcoming EuroBasket in Poland.

"That decision wasn't made just because Krstic had played more games for national team than any other called players,” Ivkovic said.

“It was because he has shown qualities as a player and as a person, and he has shown a rare loyalty to the Serbian squad.

“One piece of the evidence is that just one day after his wedding, he came to our first training for the EuroBasket.

“His authority as player and such attitude towards the national team just made our decision easy."

Ivkovic announced his final roster for the EuroBasket on Wednesday night and opted to spring a couple of mild surprises by releasing veteran guard Dusan Kecman and promising young big man Zoran Erceg.

Stefan Markovic, Milos Teodosic, Milenko Tepic, Nemanja Bjelica, Ivan Paunic, Bojan Popovic, Uros Tripkovic, Milan Macvan, Novica Velickovic, Kosta Perovic, Nenad Krstic and Miroslav Raduljica have made the final squad and will travel to Warsaw to meet Group C opponents Slovenia, Spain and Great Britain.

FIBA