Dušan Alimpijević, head coach of the Serbian national basketball team, spoke about the absence of several players who had been expected to make the squad.
The main question was why Bogdan Bogdanović was not included, and Alimpijević gave a detailed explanation regarding his situation, as well as those of Vasilije Micić, Filip Petrušev, Bogoljub Marković, and Nikola Topić.
“Micić did not receive permission from his club. Hapoel refused to grant permission without any explanation. The situation is the same with Bogdan. He wanted to join us, but Houston did not approve his participation, believing he needs to prepare for the upcoming season, which is important both for him and for the club. Permission was not granted. Petrušev’s situation is similar. Dubai did not grant permission, but that is related to his health, as he is recovering. Bogoljub Marković did not receive permission from Milwaukee. He wanted to be with us, but they wanted him to remain at their training camp. As for Topić, his medical condition does not allow him to participate,” Alimpijević said.
Head coach Dušan Alimpijević has selected an 18-man roster for the upcoming period. The squad includes: Nemanja Dangubić, Aleksa Avramović, Dejan Davidovac, Ognjen Dobrić, Jovan Novak, Marko Gudurić, Nikola Milutinov, Luka Mitrović, Dušan Ristić, Nikola Tanasković, Stefan Momirov, Arijan Lakić, Nikola Đurišić, Nikola Jović, Nikola Jokić, Mihailo Petrović, Nikola Kusturica, and Nikola Džepina.
A major showdown is scheduled for August 20 at Belgrade Arena, where Serbia will face France in a warm-up game, likely featuring a highly anticipated matchup between Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama. Serbian fans will have another spectacular event to enjoy ahead of what lies ahead.
In fact, before the most important games, Serbia will have one more test against France, this time away from home, three days later. After that comes the reason why August is such a crucial month.
Serbia will face Iceland on August 28 at Belgrade Arena and Italy on August 31 in Pesaro. These games are part of the second group stage of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Serbia carried over four wins and two losses from the first stage, but only three of the six teams in the newly formed group will qualify for the FIBA World Cup. Turkey is closest to qualification with a 6-0 record, while Serbia is battling with Italy (5-1), Lithuania (3-3), and Iceland (3-3). Bosnia and Herzegovina is also in the group with a 2-4 record.
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Source: Nova.rs, Foto: Dusan Milenkovic / ATAImages