TURKEY BOUND – Croatia’s Tomic seals switch to Real Madrid

MADRID (2010 FIBA World Championship) – One of the players on the verge of breaking into Croatia’s national team for the 2010 FIBA World Championship is young center Ante Tomic.

The leader at KK Zagreb the past few years, Tomic, who turns 23 next month, has just completed a move to Real Madrid to play for Ettore Messina.

Though he averaged better than 17 points and eight rebounds per game for Zagreb in the EuroChallenge, helping them reach the Last 16, and though he tore apart Red Star Belgrade in his final match with Zagreb at the weekend by making 11 of 14 shots from the floor en route to 26 points in his team’s 81-80 Adriatic League triumph, Tomic is likely to find the going much tougher in Spain’s ACB.

"There are great players on this team and I want to learn from them in every practice session and in every game,” Tomic said.

“I will fight hard to play as much as I can, but I'll be happy with whatever time I get to perform."

Tomic has joined a Real Madrid side that is third in the ACB standings behind Barcelona and Caja Laboral.

Madrid are also in the Euroleague Top 16.

"I'm very happy to be at Real Madrid,” he said.

“This is a dream come true. I want to thank the club for this and my wish is to justify the confidence it has in me.

“I'm ready to play. I'll have to get to know my team-mates first, but I feel ready to do what Messina wants from me."

Tomic is likely to be in new Croatia coach Josip Vrankovic’s preliminary squad for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

The Utah Jazz own Tomic’s draft rights, and the 2.17m center would like nothing more than to play in Istanbul this summer when Croatia take on Team USA’s NBA stars in Group B, as well as face Slovenia, Tunisia, Brazil and Iran.

FIBA