Preview: Zubac & Saric to Challenge Doncic as Croatia Aims to End Losing Streak against Slovenia in Olympic Qualifiers

At 2 a.m. on July 3, the Olympic Men’s Basketball Qualifiers begin, with Slovenia facing Croatia. The draw has already determined that the 24 teams, consisting of 19 from the FIBA World Cup and 5 from the qualifiers, were divided into six tiers. Four regions will host the competition, with each region’s champion securing a direct ticket to the Olympics within five days. The tournament format involves single round-robin play within each regional group, followed by crossover semifinals and finals, with the regional winner advancing to the Olympics.

Slovenia, New Zealand, and Croatia are placed in Group A1 of the Greece region.

The Croatian men’s basketball team is on a roll, having recently defeated Cyprus, Poland, and Brazil for a three-game winning streak. They have won nine of their last ten matches across all competitions, maintaining an undefeated record in the first phase of the Olympic qualifiers. Their latest victory came in a 91-81 comeback win over Brazil, marking consecutive come-from-behind wins, demonstrating their current form. Croatia boasts players such as Ivica Zubac, Mario Hezonja, and Damir Saric.

Hezonja is currently a free agent and could potentially return to the NBA next season.

Croatia has a solid record in the qualifiers, having advanced twice out of three attempts since 2008. However, they face a challenging task, with Slovenia and New Zealand in their group. If they progress to the semifinals, they might encounter the hosts Greece or Dominican Republic, Egypt, which would pose significant challenges.

Slovenia has only participated in one Olympic main event before, reaching the semifinals in 2016 before losing narrowly to France and then falling short of a medal against Australia. This is Slovenia’s third appearance in the Olympic qualifiers, with the team making it to the final in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where Doncic led them to qualification with a triple-double performance.

Slovenia has been in good form recently, winning four of their last five games, including a revenge victory over Lithuania after a narrow loss. Led by Doncic, they are strong contenders for the final. Slovenia holds a perfect 5-0 record in their last five encounters with Croatia, giving them a considerable advantage heading into this match.

Here are the complete rosters for both teams:

Croatia: Goran Filipović, Bonar Kapsuta, Krešimir Radovčić, Jalin Smith, Filip Kruslin, Toni Perković, Mario Hezonja, Matija Drezniak, Dario Drezniak, Dario Saric, Toni Načić, Boris Tišma, Tomislav Brlijan, Ivica Zubac, Danijel Blažič, Ivan Vranješ

Slovenia: Luka Dončić, Vlatko Čančar, Klemen Prepeljc, Jaka Blažič, Zoran Dragić, Aleksej Nikolić, Ziga Dimec, Gregor Hrovat, Edo Murić, Jan Spoljaric, Luka Škoka, Mike Tobey, Lino Lardo, Bine Papeplič, Tiberiu Miți, Miha Čekvinik

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