January 19, 2022 - The Croatian Basketball Federation and the Croatia men's national team coach, Veljko Mršić, have reached an agreement to terminate cooperation.
Veljko Mršić took over the national team by the decision of the HKS Board of Directors in May 2019, led the first games in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, and together with his professional staff, and great effort of players, successfully passed through the qualifications for the European championship.
At the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Split, Croatia did not secure a spot in Japan. In November 2021, a new cycle of qualifications for the World Cup began. The national team started with two defeats and now faces a difficult path in the fight to qualify. The European Championship is scheduled for September 2022.
A session of the HKS Management Board confirming the amicable termination of cooperation was held on January 18, 2022.
"The Croatian Basketball Federation thanks Mr. Mršić for his time and enormous effort, for his contribution to the efforts aimed at strengthening Croatian basketball, and certainly for his cooperation. This way, I would like to wish him a lot of success in his future business engagements," said the president of HKS, Stojko Vranković, when discussing the contract termination.
Coach Veljko Mršić thanked HKS and his associates for their cooperation:
"After almost three years of good cooperation, I thank the Croatian Basketball Federation for the trust that resulted in the successful placement of the national team at the European Championships, which was defined as the primary goal. A special and sincere thanks go to the players who selflessly gave their best at all times. I would also like to thank all the people who were involved in the work of the national team, the employees of the Federation, and the professional staff for their support. I wish the professional staff support and the entire national team a lot of success in the continuation of the qualifications with a great desire to see Croatia at the World Cup."
The Croatian Basketball Federation will soon comment on further actions regarding the Croatian men's team.
