Everything seemed almost ideal, and now it all depends on them …. Serbia will , from July 4 to July 9, 2016 , have to outplay Angola, Puerto Rico , Japan , Chez Republic and Latvia in Belgrade “ Kombank Arena” in their struggle to obtain Olympic visa, and our national players agree that they know what they should do as to appear in the Olympic parade in August in Rio…
– Above all, I would like to thank to the people in th Basketball Federation of Serbia who did great job and enable us to host the tournament….- said Miroslav Raduljica, the center in our national team- The group is difficult, and although , maybe the names of our opponents do not sound attractive we must not relax or underestimate anyone. We have to prepare well and to win the qualification for the Olympic Games, because this generation has deserved to play in Rio and that would be a crown to this cycle that has started in Madrid 2014. I believe that “ Kombank Arena “ will be full and that we will with the support from our fantastic fans , achieve our goal.
Our brilliant shooter Bogdan Bogdanovic has no doubt in terms of the favorite team at the qualification tournament for Olympic Games in Rio.
– There is nothing special to say about that, everything depends on us…. We are favorite and we do not avoid that, but we should not make some special atmosphere as if we have already secured qualification for the Olympic games. We should focus and concentrate on the games. God give us health, we only need to be healthy….- said Bogdan.
Nikola Kalinic, “ Eagles’ ” point guard , as usually is very accurate:
– AT first sight , the draw was favorable. We have avoided the strongest teams, although it could not be too difficult since the draw was partially defined. No matter to that , we must not be relaxed and think that it is over and tat we have qualified for the Olympic Games. Our funs that will fill up “ Arena “ will be another motif and stimulus for us to play better. I believe that you will watch us in Rio! So, we know what we have to do in Belgrade , in the presence of our fans.
One more owner of the would silver from 2014 Marko Simonovic warns us that less remarkable names of the opponents in our group do not leave more space to be relaxed.
– The group is good, with slightly less attractive opponents, but , it is better that was since only one team goes to Rio. We have good chances , we are the hosts, favorites… Nevertheless , we must not relax for a single moment . Chez Republic and Latvia have shown , during the European championship, that they have quality. Puerto Rico took part in the last three Olympic games, so they are for sure serious and they will seek their chance. Angola is vice champion of Africa , which means that they are good. I do not have any information about Japan… I do not thing that we have easy task. Belgrade “ Arena” will, no doubt, be full , there is great interest for this tournament. Our fans give us additional energy and that will help us. I would like us to complete this big task together.
Dragan Milosavljevic, experienced guard in our national team , agrees with his team mates.
– It is good that we play qualification tournament in Serbia . The support of the spectators will mean us very much , but this must not burden us , on the contrary it should give us additional confidence and make us more aggressive. Even though we are favorites , each game should be played seriously and with full engagement. I am sure it will be difficult , but we all expect to qualify for Rio , which is the main goal, imposed last summer. – concluded Milosavljevic.