EuroLeague and NBA players highlight Croatia NT's preliminary roster / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

After suffering a fiasco in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, the Croatian national team is getting ready to bounce back in the 2022 EuroBasket.

The team's head coach and former EuroLeague player himself, Damir Mulaomerovic, has announced the 24-men preliminary roster for the competition in September.

As it was during the last Qualifiers window, the team is headlined by NBA players Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric, and Ivica Zubac, as well as EuroLeague stars Mario Hezonja and Ante Zizic.

Former Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward Krunoslav Simon, who is now 37 years old, is also included on the roster. He is expected to play his last major tournament for his country this fall.

Interestingly enough, former Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv player Dragan Bender, who has spent the last two seasons without playing in any of the top European competitions due to injuries, is part of the preliminary roster. It is worth noting that Bender played in both matches of the last Qualifiers window though.

As reported earlier, ALBA Berlin American guard Jaleen Smith is about to be the main point guard on the roster. He's expected to receive Croatian citizenship in the upcoming weeks and lead the team in EuroBasket.

Full preliminary 24-men Croatia NT's roster:

Roko Rogic Goran Filipovic Lovro Gnjidic Jaleen Smith* Dominik Mavra Krešimir Radovcic Bojan Bogdanovic Mario Hezonja Krunoslav Simo Sven Smajlagic Mateo Dreznjak Toni Perkovic Pavle Marcinkovic Dario Saric Ivan Ramljak Roko Prkacin Dario Dreznjak Toni Nakic Zeljko Sakic Matej Rudan Dragan Bender Ivica Zubac Ante Zizic Karlo Matkovic* Jaleen Smith is in the process of acquiring Croatian citizenship

Croatia will play in Group C in EuroBasket together with Greece, Estonia, Ukraine, Great Britain, and Italy.

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