Last weekend in Zadar, the Croatia men’s basketball team suffered a shocking defeat against Romania in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. Tonight, Ivica Skelin's team welcomes the Netherlands.
"It was not the best time for me, and it is not always milk and honey. We lost the match we were expected to win, which was very important to us. Of course, the criticisms are normal," Skelin said two days after the heavy defeat for Index.hr on February 26, 2018.
Croatia coach Ivica Skelin has released a new lineup of 12 players he will count on for this evening’s game.
"The day after the defeat we brought together the team, and yesterday they started with specific preparation for the Netherlands," Skelin said. "We looked at the game and the most important segments. It is easier for everyone to accept certain things when you face them. After that, we had a meeting where we talked about the pressure and the game as a result. It's not an easy situation. The players did not want that. The circumstance is that there are no NBA players, there is no Simon to help. The public looks at these guys through the prism of everyone else. This is not the best Croatia we could compile under normal circumstances. But that is not always the ideal situation,” Skelin added.
For tonight, there is still no injured Marko Popović and Rok Stipčević in the lineup, and Miro Bilan has dropped out of the composition. There are also two new names, Domagoj Bošnjak and Ivan Ramljak.
"Marko Popovic is unable to compete. We knew it right after that match. His recovery is not going to plan,“ Skelin confirmed.
Tonight’s lineup for the match against the Netherlands includes:
1. ULJAREVIĆ Karlo
2. PERIĆ Hrvoje
3. MAVRA Dominik
4. KRUŠLIN Filip
5. PILEPIĆ Fran
6. ŽORIĆ Luka
7. PLANINIĆ Darko
8. BOŠNJAK Domagoj
9. BUVA Ivan
10. BABIĆ Luka
11. RAMLJAK Ivan
12. ŠAKIĆ Željko
Croatia will face the Netherlands tonight at 20:00 Croatia time. You can watch the game on HRT Sport.
Translated from Index.hr
