February 19, 2020 - The Olympic qualifying tournament in Split is the last chance to fight for a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Croatia national team has a slight advantage, as they will be playing in front of a home crowd.

HKS reports that one of the four Olympic qualifying basketball tournaments will be played in Split from June 23 to 28 at the Spaladium Arena. Croatia will fight against the national teams of Germany, Russia, Tunisia, Mexico and Brazil for a spot in Tokyo.

"The tournament in Split is one big event and promotion not only for basketball but for the whole of Croatia. We hope for a good atmosphere and once again thank the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the City of Split and Split-Dalmatia County. We hope that the team will be complete and that everyone will be healthy and we can look forward to the Olympic Games. We are about to begin qualifying for the European Championships that await us in 2021. On Friday, we play against Sweden, after which we play with the Netherlands. These two games are extremely important for us. After that, we expect the HT Premier League championship finals, and then we are preparing for this tournament.”

All fans looking to cheer on Croatia in Split can purchase tickets from February 26 through system.hr.

“The Split tournament is, in my opinion, the most important event in Croatian sport in 2020, and the importance and weight are in the opponents, system and organization. FIBA has risen to a higher level of quality since EuroBasket in 2015. We recognized this tournament as a top event that has the opportunity to be played in Croatia. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Prime Minister and the Government of the Republic of Croatia for recognizing this. What awaits us in Split is the ultimate spectacle for all sports fans, especially basketball. Until the tournament, we will work on the animation and promotion of basketball and take this opportunity to raise basketball to another level,” said the Secretary-General of the Croatian Basketball Federation, Josip Vranković.

Qualifying for the Olympic Games and representing their country is a dream of all athletes, which guarantees that exciting basketball awaits us in Split. The Croatia national team will have a slight advantage as they will have support from the Split stands.

‘’I hope we can show a good game in front of our home crowd on Friday and win. We expect that the Drazen Petrovic hall will be packed to the last place and that together with our fans, we will have a positive atmosphere before this last Euro qualifier against the Netherlands and before the Olympic tournament in Split in June.

When we finish these games, we will start preparing for the Split tournament, talk to all the players to get ready for the summer,” said Croatian basketball team coach Veljko Mrsic.

The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 24 to August 9. The Croatia basketball team has qualified for the Olympic Games four times, with the highest success being the silver medal in 1992. At the last Rio Olympics, Croatia took 5th place. The tournament in Split is an opportunity for all basketball lovers and fans to accompany their national teams on the road to the Olympics, but also to enjoy top-notch basketball. In addition to Split, other host cities are Belgrade, Kaunas and Victoria. A total of 24 teams will compete in the tournaments, with only the tournament winners going to the Olympics.

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Veljko Mršić was presented as the 13th Croatia men’s basketball team coach on Friday and expressed that his primary task will be to compete at the European Championship in 2021.

In the Zagreb hotel Panorama, the Croatia basketball team gathered to continue their qualifications for the World Cup. Croatia will play against Poland in Varaždin on February 22, while three days later, Croatia will play against Hungary, reports Index.hr on February 18, 2019. 

The team immediately hit the road to Sveti Martin for their quick preparations, for which Dražen Anzulović called up 16 players.

Two rounds before the end of the qualifications, Croatia is in an almost hopeless position. Croatia currently holds the fifth place in the group with 14 points, though only the first three teams advance to the 2019 World Cup in China. Croatia can qualify for the competition only if they win both of their games and if Poland loses to the Netherlands, the last placed team, in the final round.

"Everyone who is here, I'm sure, will give it their all, and that is how we will train and work to be ready for the games. As far as Poland is concerned, I've talked about it before, I know all the players, and I respect their quality, but I'm sure we will play much better than we did in Poland,” said Dražen Anzulovic. 

The new captain of the team, Hrvoje Perić, added: 

"It makes no sense to give some pompous statements. I'm glad to be here; I see the team is much younger than we would be otherwise and we are going to prepare with our maximum, give everything of ourselves, and hope for the best."

The match against Poland is scheduled on February 22 in Varaždin, after which the team will travel to Szombathely where they will play Hungary on February 25th at 18:30 for the last qualifying game for the World Cup. 

Lithuania is currently first place in the group with 19 points, followed by Italy with 17, Poland with 16, Hungary with 15, Croatia with 14, and the Netherlands with 13 points.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Croatian basketball team manager Dražen Anzulovic published a list of players for the continuation of the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Croatian national team coach Dražen Anzulović announced a preliminary list of players he can count on in the next qualifying round for the 2019 World Cup. 

Though Croatia is the last team in their group for the 2019 World Championship qualifiers, one of their biggest reinforcements will come to rescue for the remaining games in the next few months.