Although he has not yet received his passport, that is, the entire paperwork has not been completed, Jaleen Smith (27) will make his debut for the Croatian basketball team today.
Damir Mulaomerović took the team to a preparatory tournament in Pardubice, where they will play Bulgaria on Saturday and the Czech Republic on Sunday. In Opatija, the only returnee Kruno Simon remains, who works separately from his teammates, according to a special program. He will train with fitness coach Luka Milanović.
Croatia is preparing for the September EuroBasket, and before that the pre-qualifications for the 2025 European Championship will begin. We have the strongest possible team together, the coach wrote off Anto Žižić and Dragan Bender because he estimated that he did not need them because he has enough quality in the central positions, and in addition to Bojan Bogdanović and Ivica Zupac, after four years in the national team, there are also Dario Saric and Kruno Simon.
– For most of us, this is the last big competition with the national team, so it gives us more motivation to do something – said Bogdanović.
After EuroBasket, Croatian basketball players will not be on the big stage at least until 2025 and the next European Championship, because they gambled away the World Championship already in the first round with defeats against Slovenia, Finland and Sweden, and you can only go to the Olympic Games through the WC or with an invitation .