Spain coach Mario Pesquera believes there is only one clear favourite to win the EuroBasket.
Pesquera's side fly out to Belgrade on Wednesday as the countdown to the competition begins in earnest.

Although his side have enjoyed a strong warm-up with five wins and only two defeats (to Croatia and Greece) in pre-tournament games, Pesquera is not looking past the hosts when naming his favourites to win the title.

"Only Serbia & Montenegro can win the gold medal, nobody else," he said, suggesting the the atmosphere created by the home fans could give them an edge.

		“	Only Serbia & Montenegro can win the gold medal, nobody else	„
		Mario Pesquera

"They have very good players in every position and they are a great team.

They are very fast and I am certain they will be hard to beat at home.

"They are a side that is very strong in defence and we will have to see just how far the referees allow them to go."

The Spain coach was, however, pleased with his own side's preparations.

"It has been very positive, apart from the Ukraine, all our opponents were sides you have to be careful about. For example we beat France twice and they have just beaten Turkey," he added.

"We have all seen what Croatia can do while Greece were the strongest side we have played.

"Maybe we lack a bit of freshness and we have not had great luck with injuries (Iker Iturbe, Juan Carlos Navarro and Carlos Jimenez have all had problems during recent weeks), but now what I am thinking about is getting a team that is fast and capable of surprises."

Spain's women have just returned home dangling bronze medals around their necks following a successful European campaign in Turkey.

Pesquera admits that adds pressure for his players, but doesn't want to change his first objective, which is a top-six finish and a place in the forthcoming World Championships.

"We are under pressure because of that and what is asked of the team, we are under pressure to win a medal and to win it all, but our main objective is to have a good competition and to qualify for the World Championships, that's all," he said.