This is it: Gilas opens FIBA World Cup campaign against mighty Croatia
SEVILLE, SPAIN - Gilas Pilipinas’ first tough assignment in Group B of the FIBA Basketball World Cup first round here in Seville, Spain is against Croatia, a highly respected basketball country that has produced so many great players including former NBA campaigners Toni Kukoc, Dino Rada, Zan Tabak and the late Drazen Petrovic. This former Yugoslavian state is currently ranked 16th in the world. The Philippines is No. 34 in the latest FIBA world rankings.
Unfortunately for Gilas, the consensus of many basketball gurus today is that Croatia is one of the top contenders for this year’s FIBA World Cup title. Although Group B also has former world champions Argentina and Greece, Croatia appears to be the team to beat in this group. The other members of Group B are Puerto Rico and Senegal. And the Philippines gets the first crack at Croatia.
Size and Youth
The Croatians are much taller than our Gilas heroes by an average of five inches. Their average height is 6’8” as opposed to the Philippines’ 6’3”. Their tallest player is 7’1” center from FC Barcelona in the ACB Spanish League Ante Tomic followed by two 6’11” center forwards in Luksa Andric and Luka Zoric, both of whom are veterans in the European circuit. Add to that list three 6’10” forwards in Dario Saric, Damir Markota and Indiana Pacer Damjan Rudez. The smallest in their roster is 6’0” former three-year NBA point guard Roko Ukic, who now suits up for Croatian club Cedevita. Gilas’ tallest players are 6’11” Andre Blatche, 6’10” Junmar Fajardo and 6’9” Japeth Aguilar.
Croatia is also a younger team with an average age of 26 years old versus the Philippines’ 30. The youngest cager in the Croatian team is 19-year old Mario Hezonja, a 6’8” highly athletic small forward from FC Barcelona. He was one of the best players in the Under-17 FIBA World Championship in 2012, with averages of 20.8 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Another youthful player is Saric, who is only 20 years old. In last year’s FIBA Under-19 World Championship, Saric starred for Croatia with outstanding numbers of 20.3 points, 11.2 boards and 4.9 assists per game. He was actually drafted in the NBA this year but opted to play in the Turkish Cup for Anadolu Efes Club. The oldest player is 30-year-old shooting guard Oliver Lafayette, who plays for the Greek club Olympiacos in the Euro League.
Experience and Talent
This Croatian team is rich in playing experience at the highest level of the sport. It is a team filled with veteran players from the Euro League and previous FIBA tournaments. But expected to lead Croatia this year is 6’7” shooting guard Bojan Bogdanovic, who will be seeing action for the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA next season. Bojan was Croatia’s best scorer in last year’s European championship as he collected 17.4 points per game on top of 4.1 rebounds. Croatia finished fourth in the 2013 FIBA Euro Cup.
Another key player is 29-year old Krunoslav Simon, who plays for the Lokomotiv Club in the Russian League. The 6’5” shooting guard was impressive in last year’s FIBA Euro Cup as he registered norms of 9.3 points, 3.8 boards and 2.1 assists for Croatia.
With Tomic, Lafayette, Ukic, Saric, Zoric and Rudez in this talent-laden roster, Croatia is undoubtedly one of the deepest teams in all of the FIBA World Cup today.
Revered basketball coach Jasmin Repesa will be at the helm of the Croatian team for the third straight year since his return with the national squad in 2012. He was also the national coach from 2005 to 2009. Repesa is one of the most successful bench tacticians in Europe today as he holds a total of 14 club championships all over Europe including last year’s Croatian Cup title for Cedevita. He also previously coached Unicaja Malaga in the ACB Liga Endesa (Spanish League), Tofas in the Turkish League, and Fortitudo Bologna in the Italian Super Cup.
Former Smart Gilas head coach and now Jordanian National Team mentor Rajko Toroman thinks that Croatia will make it to the semis and even has a good chance of playing in this year’s finals.
Determination
Croatia, just like other former Yugoslavian states Serbia and Slovenia, is a basketball crazy nation that’s hungry for glory in the sport.
Croatia’s best finish in international competitions is a silver medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. They played but lost in the finals to no less than the Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson-led US Dream Team.
It seems that this year, the Croatians are determined to make a strong statement in the FIBA World Cup. Let’s just hope our Gilas Pilipinas team can put up a good fight against this European powerhouse.
