Croatia U20 finishes seventh at Eurobasket; coach cites missing players for medal hopes

Croatia's U20 national basketball team secured a seventh-place finish at the European Championship, a result Coach Petar Babić deems "very good" considering the circumstances. This placement ensures their continued participation in the top A division.

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We started modestly, under the radar. When we gathered, we knew that without hard work in A division we would have no chance, so we started 'plowing' from day one.

Babić highlighted that the team's performance could have been even stronger, potentially competing for a medal, had key tall players been available. Several important players, including the entire center line, were unavailable due to their commitments with NCAA colleges. The coach expressed disappointment that these players, despite potential financial offers, lacked the drive to represent their country at major tournaments, contrasting them with players from finalist teams like Slovenia and Serbia who still attended despite having signed NCAA contracts.

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They were thrown into the fire. We told them it could be frustrating at first, that maybe not everything would go according to plan, but that effort would pay off. And it did.

The team's journey began "under the radar," with a strong emphasis on defense due to anticipated height disadvantages from opponents. Babić praised the significant development of his centers, who were initially criticized for a lack of quality. These players, thrust into the starting lineup, showed remarkable progress, improving from scoring no points in the first game against Greece to contributing 28 points in the seventh-place victory against Germany.

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If our team had Ružić, Jurić, Marić, Perković available, it would certainly be a different story. I believe we would have been fighting for medals in that case.

Babić acknowledged the challenge of integrating young players with limited senior team experience. While the guards had sufficient depth, the lack of experience among the younger players was noticeable. Despite the setbacks, Babić expressed gratitude to the players who committed to representing Croatia, drawing parallels to the previous year's successful effort to avoid relegation from B division.

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It's a question for FIBA, but also for the players and their agents. What are their priorities? If we had come with a full squad, we would have fought for a medal.