EuroBasket 2015 in Zagreb
In 1935 in Geneva, Switzerland the European basketball caravan was initiated and it lasts until today. In 1989, at the time of Yugoslavia, Zagreb hosted this great European championship. Rađa, Petrović, Vranković... were crowned with gold in the middle of Zagreb. It was the last time that Zagreb hosted European Basketball Championship for seniors.
We shall start from Croatian independence. Already for more than two decades Croatian team has been participating at EuroBasket. In eleven participations so far two bronze medals were won - next to one fourth place at the last tournament in Slovenia.
Twenty years have passed since out team won the bronze medal in Germany. Time has come for something new and great – a medal!
Croatia has an opportunity to achieve a great result because the most important sports event in Europe 2015 will take place in Zagreb! From 5 to 10 September 2015 Zagreb will together with France, Germany and Latvia host one group of EuroBasket 2015. In the Group C Croatia will play with Greece, Slovenia, Macedonia, Georgia and Netherlands.
Croatian basketball team could make a significant step forward. Why? Let us just mention that the selector Perasović and his team took in 1995 at the European Championship in Athens the last Croatian medal (bronze) after the 73:68 victory over Greece. Shortly before, in 1993, Croatia also won bronze; it was a medal shadowed by the departure of Dražen Petrović.
Croatia has been a frequent guest at EuroBasket from 1993 to 2013 with participations in: 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011 and recently - to us most precious one - in 2013, when the „spell of quarter-final“ was broken. Croatia proudly won the fourth place, had a player (Bogdanović) among the best five at EuroBasket and made each Croat proud.
Many participations at European championships meant an additional experience for Croatia. Just this, as well as playing at home twenty years after the last medal, are the motifs which could give our basketball player additional tail wind and us a hope that we could maybe see Bogdanović, Šarić, Tomić and the rest of the team with a medal round their necks.
Andrea Hitner
