SRB - Pavlovic will choose Serbia, says Slavnic

PODGORICA (National Team) - Serbia coach Zoran Slavnic insists he has received assurances that Cleveland Cavalier Aleksandar Pavlovic will represent his side at EuroBasket 2007, despite the fact Montenegro have also named the player in their preliminary squad.

Montenegro this week followed Serbia in including Pavlovic on a list they had to submit to basketball's world governing body FIBA by July 7.

Though he was born in Montenegro, his parents are Serbs and Pavlovic has said in the past he considers himself to be a Serbian as well.

Slavnic said: "(Montenegro head coach) Dusko Vujosevic put Pavlovic on the list, and he has a right to do that.

"But I'm not worried. I know Sasha's attitude, and I know what his decision is as I've spoken with his father."

Pavlovic played for Buducnost, Montenegro's biggest basketball team, before going to the NBA in 2003.

He spent a year with the Utah Jazz and was traded to Cleveland the next season.

A 6ft 6in forward, Pavlovic had a breakout 2006-07 campaign in his fourth NBA season and helped the Cavs reach the NBA Finals for the first time in team history.

Montenegro will not compete in official competition until next year, but the federation had to submit a list of players to FIBA by July 7.

"Pavlovic is on the list, but we know that putting his name on our list isn't enough for him to be a member of the Montenegrin national team," said the general secretary of the Basketball Association of Montenegro (KSCG), Petar Popovic.

"This is a list of players who our head coach, Dusko Vujosevic, would like to see in our national team.

"Still, as he hasn't made an official decision which country he'll play for, we have a right to hope that he'll be a Montenegrin player, as well as our friends from
Serbia hope that he'll be their player.

"It's his choice. We are working on that issue, I hope we'll get him."

Pavlovic played for Serbia & Montenegro at the 2004 Olympics, but was left off Zeljko Obradovic's EuroBasket 2005 squad and last season did not make himself available for duty at the FIBA World Championship.

As Montenegro's basketball federation was officially recognised at last year's FIBA World Congress in Japan, the Montenegrins and Serbians are now competing as separate teams and both want Pavlovic.

Darko Nikolic
FIBA