Ivkovic Puts Serbia Summer Into Perspective

Serbia coach Dusan Ivkovic wouldn't have agreed to take the national team reins earlier this year for the second time in his career if he hadn't believed in his players.
There were skeptics because the Blues, one of the traditional powerhouses in Europe, had a very young team but Ivkovic felt his squad would be good enough to survive a very tough Group A in EuroBasket Division A and they proved him right by winning seven of their eight qualify games to finish first and book a place in next year's Final Round in Poland.
"Since the beginning, I believed in this selection of players," Ivkovic said.

Zoran Erceg was critical for Serbia in their qualification campaign."And I believed that we'd have a good start.
"For the first time in my career I've taken the same job for second time, and my only reason was that I believed in players."
Nenad Krstic, Milos Vujanic, Zoran Erceg and Novica Velickovic were all excellent but really, no player stood out over the others.
The young Serbians had such great balance and played like a team that really, no player stood out.
They swept Italy, the team deemed to be their biggest rivals in Group A, Bulgaria and Hungary while splitting two games with a very good Finland team.
Serbia, who played in front of big crowds at the Belgrade Arena when at home, secured their spot with a 92-66 home triumph over the Finns on September 17.
"After our second game with Finland, when we qualified for EuroBasket 2009 with one more game still to go," Ivkovic said, "(that's when) our preparation for the European Championship started."
Ivkovic now says it's important for everyone, including the fans, the federation and the players, to understand what this summer means.
"We've done what we've expected to do, we've qualified for European Championship," he said.
"But now, I hear comments like "great success", "fantastic" and so on. Well, we didn't achieve anything spectacular, there was nothing special. We've just - qualified. And that's all, for now. The toughest part of our journey is ahead of us, and our goal is to qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. So, we are just at the start."
If Ivkovic wants his charges to mull over anything before next year's tournament in Poland, it's this.
"We have to be ready no matter who our rivals will be there, and to be ready when the right moment comes," he said.
"In sports, you must work constantly."

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Skopje Celebrates FYROM Success

The players of FYR of Macedonia's basketball team are the new heroes in their country and it's not just because they have booked a place in next year's EuroBasket in Poland.
No, sports fans in the country couldn't help but admire the passion and flair Jovica Arsic's men showed in their qualifying campaign.
"We will not stop here," said 35-year-old FYROM captain Vrbica Stefanov.
"We will go to Poland to represent our country, to show our personality, to give another dimension to the basketball world.
"We will all start the new season in our teams with pleasure, and with the greatest desire to show our best at the EuroBasket next year."
FYROM edged out Latvia for first place in Group B of EuroBasket Division A with Portugal third and Estonia fourth.
The successful summer wasn't lost on anyone.
It turned out to be a state occasion.
The second greatest success of FYR of Macedonia basketball (after competing in the final round in France nine years ago) was recognized by the country's Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who welcomed the players to his office.
There, he promised to follow the team in Poland, although he wasn't able to be at the qualification games due to state matters.
"The country thanks you for the joy that you gave us," he said.
The Basketball Federation of FYR of Macedonia, which has received pledges of support from the government and the state agency for youth and sports, is already working on ‘Project Poland'.
"This is a mega project for us," said Daniel Dimevski, the president of the basketball federation.
"I hope that the entire nation enjoyed this achievement and this success, one of the greatest in our independent history.
"I am pleased that our country is feeling proud of winning our group. We will show that our place is with the best of Europe.
"All of us being part of this event will give our maximum to represent our country in the best way possible."
The celebration after the last game, FYR of Macedonia's 87-75 win over Estonia on Saturday which gave the team a 4-2 record, carried over from the basketball court to the Cuban restaurant in Skopje that is renowned for evening parties.
The establishment is owned by a basketball legend in FYR of Macedonia and an Olympic silver medalist with Yugoslavia, Blagoja Georgievski Bustur.
He was more than pleased to welcome the FYROM players to his club, and to give them some advice on being top level players.
That evening, there was an even more landmark occasion.
FYR of Macedonia's national team manager Ilija Merganovski agreed to have the mustache he had worn for more than 20 years shaved off.
Pero Antic performed the "operation" and was assisted by fellow star player Todor Gecevski.
"It was a promise that I had to keep," Merganovski said.
"I am not sorry for my loss, the mustache will grow back, hopefully to celebrate another success in Poland."

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Czechs Try To Cope With ‘Failure’

Failure! It's a harsh word but one that is used often when a team doesn't achieve its objective.
Failure is what came to mind for Czech Republic national team coach Michal Jezdik when asked to describe his side's attempt to qualify for next year's EuroBasket in Poland.
Their Division A campaign didn't just end on Saturday night in Tel Aviv. The bid to reach the Final Round crashed and burned in a 98-61 defeat to the Israelis.
The Czechs were annihilated by a team that they had beaten back in Pardubice on September 10, 91-70.
The result left Jezdik's team with just two wins in their six Group D games.
"This qualification is a failure," lamented Jezdik.
The coach had high hopes of reaching Poland, especially since the Czechs had played at EuroBasket 2007 and then seemingly caught a break by being drawn in a group that included Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and newly-promoted Great Britain.
The so-called powerhouses of Serbia, Israel, Turkey and France had all ended up in other pools.
So where did it go wrong?
It started when veteran Lubos Barton announced he wouldn't be able to play this summer.
"At the present moment," Jezdik said, "Lubos is for our team irreplaceable."
There was also the absence of a quality point guard in Maurice Whitfield.
"We mostly missed his extensive experience," Jezdik said.
The 67-63 point defeat to the Brits three days before the blowout in Israel was a killer.
The Czechs outplayed their opponents but did just enough to lose. The Czech team was horrible at the free throw line, making just nine of 18 (50%) in that defeat to Britain.
They should have at least forced overtime in their penultimate qualifying game but star man Jiri Welsch missed a lay-up with just a few seconds remaining.
Then there is the form on the road. At home, the Czechs were in form. They beat Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel and suffered the narrow defeat to Britain.
The Czechs lost all of their games on the road by big margins.
"In the games at home and away, we acted as a completely different team," Jezdik said.
"Maybe it really was that we, as a team, did not have much experience."
Now Jezdik and the players will have to stew over what might have been and face up to reality.
The Czechs went from a team that could have qualified for Poland heading into the last game in Israel to a team that is now in the Relegation Round.
They will take on Hungary, Ukraine and Estonia in a fight for Division A survival next year.

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Miranda: "It was a team victory"

Rarely has a triumph by a team that did not clinch a EuroBasket place been as sweet as Portugal's win over Latvia last weekend.
The Portuguese went into the game looking to level their record to earn a place in the Additional Qualifying Round and were fully aware that a defeat might drop them into the Relegation Round.
After leading by double digits in the second half but falling behind late in the contest, Moncho Lopez's team secured a 93-92 win with Miguel Miranda's three-pointer six seconds from the end. Latvia then turned the ball over and their chances of a road victory disappeared.
When it was all said and done, Miranda had scored his team's first points with a three, and Portugal's last points with a shot from the arc.
The 29-year-old forward finished with five three-balls and walked off the court with 17 points.
Due to his and his teammates' efforts, Portugal stayed in the hunt for a return trip to the EuroBasket.
Does Miranda feel like a national hero after hitting the game-winning shot?
"No, I don‘t feel like a national hero," he said to Basketball World News. "It was just a victory of the team. I was fortunate to have the ball in my hands at that moment and made the three-pointer. Any other team-mate could have done it."
Portugal endured an 0-3 start to qualifying, and Miranda missed their opening 79-70 home defeat to Estonia due to injury.
But he returned to the fray and ultimately helped the Portuguese join an Additional Qualifying Round that also includes France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Belgium and Finland.
"Those first three defeats were a lesson for all of us," Miranda said. "The main reason for that failure was us, the players, more than anyone else.
"Not much has changed in our team. The only thing was that we, the players, had the obligation to do better, and we did.
"We had seven injured players during qualifying. I have never witnessed anything similar since I joined the national team."
Against Latvia, Miguel Miranda played all 40 minutes and finished five of nine from three-point range.
"It was a victory for our team," Miranda said. "It was nothing personal. We deserved to win more than anyone."
Now Miranda and his teammates can go into their club seasons feeling good about their summer. Next year, the battles will start all over again.
Only one of the teams in the Additional Qualifying Round will reach the EuroBasket in Poland.
"I keep considering that Portugal has the same chances as any other team to seal a place to the EuroBasket," Miranda said.

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Parker Doesn’t Waver In Commitment To France

San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker has firmly declared that he will be with France next summer when they compete in the Additional Qualifying Round for EuroBasket 2009.
Parker and France narrowly missed out on a direct qualifying place for next year's Final Round after finishing as the fourth best second-place team in Division A.
Turkey, who went undefeated and won Group C ahead of France (3-3), along with Great Britain, Serbia and FYR of Macedonia won their respective pools while Latvia, Israel and Bulgaria all came in second and beat Parker and Co to qualification.
When asked if he would play next summer, Parker said: "I don't even have to answer that question - I will be there, I am going to carry on. We must stay positive."
Parker was nearly unstoppable on offense in the qualifying campaign and signed off with 37 points in his team's 80-78 home defeat to Turkey on Saturday.
Had France been able to win that game, they would have clinched a place in Poland with a 4-2 record. As it was, their goal efficient was inferior to that of Israel and Bulgaria - the other second-place teams to finish with 3-3 records.
France coach Michel Gomez has tried to take the pressure off his players.
"If it is necessary to give me the axe, that's not a problem," he said.
"I assume the responsibility.
"The guys gave everything. That is sport, that is basketball.
"We just have to continue working hard and not believe we are the best."
Next summer, France will compete against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Portugal, Finland and Belgium for one EuroBasket 2009 spot that is still up for grabs.
The draw for the order of the games of the Additional Qualifying Round will take place in Warsaw, Poland on November 8.

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Calderon Committed To Spain for EuroBasket 2009

Spain guard Jose Manuel Calderon has underlined his commitment to the national side by announcing he fully intends to play at next summer's EuroBasket in Poland.
Calderon, who might have earned MVP honors at EuroBasket 2007 had the Spanish not lost to Russia in the final seconds, got hurt in his country's quarter-final win over Croatia at the Olympics and had to miss the semi-final win over Lithuania and gold medal game against the United States.
"We are missing a gold at the EuroBasket and the next tournament is a great opportunity to achieve that," said Toronto Raptors star Calderon.
"Will I be taking a break? No, if I am fit, I will play at the EuroBasket."
Spain center Pau Gasol recently hinted he may take next summer off to rest.
He said last week: "I will take a decision after the end of the season when I see how the season ends and how I feel physically and mentally."

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Buoyant Bulgaria Hope To Build Momentum

Forget the fact that Bulgaria only scraped their way into next year's EuroBasket in Poland.
They finished as the third best second-place team in Division A with four wins and four defeats in Group A, and ended up with a superior goal coefficient to that of France, who came in as runner-up to Turkey in Group C.
Bulgaria's inspirational coach, Israeli Pini Gershon, said bluntly: "The most important thing is that we
Ibrahim Jaaber led Bulgaria in scoring with 16 points per game.qualified."
The Bulgarians had an incredible summer, one with many twists and turns.
When Gershon accepted an offer to coach the team at the end of last year, expectations soared but in a qualifying group that also included Serbia, Italy, Hungary and Finland, it wasn't going to be easy.
The national team won against Hungary, Finland and Italy in its first three games under Gershon before falling to a first defeat in Serbia on September 3.
Gershon's men then had to stiffen their resolve after a heart-breaking setback in Hungary on September 6, where they lost to a shot in the final seconds by the home side.
But they rebounded in the next game with a gritty home triumph over Finland, and crucially did not lose to Italy by more than one point in Turin in their penultimate qualifying game.
Had that happened, then the Italians would have finished second and Bulgaria third because of the goal differential in their two meetings.
As it was, Bulgaria had a better goal average in Group A to finish above Italy. Their goal coefficient was so strong that only a huge blowout in Sofia against Serbia would have prevented them from advancing to Poland.

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