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On Monday, the six teams gathered in the Nemunas will not fight each other yet, but they will have to work their language a bit.
The Slovenians were the first to introduce the teams to the media and fans.
“We have one goal: the Tokyo Olympics. We will do our best to get there. We met our rivals at the hotel, we know them well. It will be difficult, in my opinion, the favorite of the tournament is Lithuania, who will have the support of a full arena. But, as I said, we will do everything possible to defeat her as well as all the other opponents, “said E. Muričius.
At the time, the team’s strategist Aleksandras Sekuličius was in no rush to stick labels: when asked if he agreed with the 29-year-old club Ljubljana forward Cedevita Olimpija, he shrugged and laughed.
“Lithuanians are hosts, they have very noisy fans. They can really be favorites. But there is still a lot of work to be done before we can meet them. When we actually play with Lithuanians, then it will be possible to decide whether Edo is right. I respect everyone. teams, and especially the Angolan team, with whom we will start the tournament, ”said the 43-year-old specialist.
The main argument Slovenians base their Olympic debut hopes on is Luka Dončičius of the Dallas Mavericks.
A brilliant defender in the NBA league also makes teammates feel more secure.
“Luka will not only be the biggest star of this tournament; in my opinion, he is one of the three best players in the world. Give confidence to others: we know that you will find us on the field, just get ready to receive the ball. Luka has lots of energy, he is fun to play with. We will follow our leader and try to help him as much as he needs to win. I think everyone understands that not everyone is destined to play with Luka, so it is a great honor for us ”, E. Muričius praised the young colleague.
#mojtim 🏀🇸🇮💪 https://t.co/nl9paIJLfL
– Slovenian Basketball Association (@kzs_si) June 26, 2021
In the Slovenian national team, Dončičius will try to replace another NBA defender, Goran Dragic, who has ended his career with the national team.
Attempts to persuade a 35-year-old Miami Heat representative to change his mind this summer have been unsuccessful.
“Of course we wanted to get him back, there were informal speeches. But we have to respect Goran’s choice, he has reasons for that. I think he trusts our team, he knows we can do something without him,” said A. Sekuličius.
But the question is what would Slovenians do without Mike Tobey, to whom he provided his country’s passport just this month. A. Sekulčius especially needed the United States midfielder, as the team’s front line is far behind the perimeter chain of players.
“In training, Mike looks good, he agrees with the other guys. The team had good relations, everyone accepted Mike as their own. I’m also excited. We will see how he will look in the most important moments of the game”, evaluated the coach the new student.
The team led by L. Dončičius, to which he returned for the first time after the victory of the 2017 European Championship, will start the fight for the only Olympic entry in Group B with Angola (Wednesday) and Poland (Thursday). Two teams will advance to the semifinals.
In group A, Venezuela and South Korea will compete with the Lithuanian hosts.
The selection tournament will take place in Kaunas from June 29 to July 4. The Slovenians have yet to make their Olympics debut, although this will be their third attempt in the qualifying round.
Composition of the Slovenian national team:
Jaka Blažičius (Ljublianos Cedevita Olimpija), Vlatko Čančaras (Denver Nuggets), Jakomas Čebašekas (Dynamo Bucharest), Žiga Dimecas (Cedevita Olympia), Luka Dončičius (Daver Mavericks), Zoran Dragičius (Vaskonia Baskonia), Gregoras Hrovatas (“Cholet”), Edo Murichius (Cedevita Olympia), Aleksejus Nikoličius (“Gravelines”), Klemenas Prepeličius (“Valencia”), Luka Rupnikas (Cedevita Olympia), Mike as Tobey (“Valencia”).
Selector #mojtimAleksander Sekulić determined the twelve for the Kaunas tournament.
❤️🇸🇮🏀 pic.twitter.com/RJrWMwq2g0– Slovenian Basketball Association (@kzs_si) June 28, 2021
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