Slovenian forward Marko Milic has given up his grandmother's home cooking for a very good cause.

The 28-year-old is hoping to return to the national team for Eurobasket 2005 after a two-year absence from international duty.

"I now don't have it very often, honestly," admitted Milic when asked about his grandma's specials.

		“	Last year. I put on five kilos and If I want to be ready for the national team, I cannot take that risk	„
		Marko Milic

"Last year. I put on five kilos and If I want to be ready for the national team, I cannot take that risk."

Playing for the national team was not that important in 2003, when Milic and other Slovenians finished a disappointing 10th place at the Eurobasket in Sweden.

The players were shell-shocked because they appeared to have one foot in the quarter-finals, but blew a huge lead against Israel and lost in the first knockout round.

After that defeat, Milic admitted that he may not be back. But that has changed, and one of the reasons is that he is upbeat about Slovenia's chances with the team in Group C alongside France, Greece and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

"This year we are much stronger," he said. "We have five or six players from the NBA.  We've got a great chance but we have to be careful because we all like to play in attack and not much in defence."

Ales Pipan's outfit are likely to be boosted by the return of NBA stars Rasho Nestorovic, Beno Udrih, Bostjan Nachbar and Primoz Brezec as well as rising talent Erazem Lorbek, whose had a formidable campaign with Italian champions Climamio Bologna.

Lorbek, in fact, was on Tuesday drafted in the second round by Larry Bird's Indiana Pacers.

And then of course, there's Milic, a former Phoenix Sun who desperateluy wants to take part in the Serbia & Montenegro tournament.

"I play basketball with my friends twice a week and then I run and cycle every morning in order to keep fit and not to put on weight," he added.

And there's no better place to prepare for the big occasion for Milic than his home country.

"Right now I am on holiday in Slovenia," said Milic.

"It's the ideal place considering that I haven't been home in the past 10 months."

Milic could be forgiven for his long absence as he had a busy campaign with Italian outfit Scavolini Pesaro.

The former Real Madrid star averaged about 20 minutes a game and says he has given his word that he will return.

Milic, a 2m forward, will have a chance to test his skills on June 20 when he and other stars take part in a testimonial game for Slovenian basketball legend Jure Zdovc in his home town of Ljubljana.

"It's on June 30 and it's going to be a special evening," said Milic.

"(Sasha) Danilovic, (Arvydas) Sabonis, (Tony) Kukoc, (Vlade) Divac will also be there, it's going to be a great night of basketball."