France forward Boris Diaw believes his team's unity will give them a fantastic chance of winning Eurobasket 2005.

France are out to prove a point in Belgrade this September after finishing a disappointing fourth in Eurobasket 2003 and failing to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

		“	We are very united, and the objective is to win	„
		Boris Diaw

However the young team managed to secure qualification to Eurobasket 2005 last summer, and Diaw is convinced they can build on that success.

"We are very united, and the objective is to win," said Diaw, speaking at Monday's press conference in Paris where coach Claude Bergeaud announced a 16-man training group for this summer.

"We want to win as many matches as possible and snatch the last match of the competition.

"What made our strength last summer was our collective spirit and this is what will make us progress again this year."

Eleven of the 12 players who were present during the qualifying campaign have been called up again to take part to the training sessions organised by the French federation.

		Tony Parker during Eurobasket 2003

There are also returns for San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker, Mickael Pietrus of the Golden State Warriors, and Valencia's Cyril Julian - who had all turned down a chance to link up with the national team last year to dedicate more time to their respective clubs.

Point guard Antoine Rigaudeau, who won silver at the Sydney Olympics before retiring from international action, has been called up after announcing his desire to play for Les Bleus again and after successfully recovering from an Achilles injury.

"My priority is to make sure that we build up a side inspired from the group which led us to qualification for Eurobasket 2005," said Bergeaud.

		“	My priority is to make sure that we build up a side inspired from the group which led us to qualification for Eurobasket 2005	„
		Claude Bergeaud

Captain Laurent Foirest has been named in the group even though he remains a doubt because of niggling knee injuries.

"Laurent still has a lot of problems with his knee," added Bergeaud, "and for the moment he is unable to say whether or not he will be able to play on August 6 when we officially start our training all together.

"He is waiting until the end of June to make his decision. And depending on his decision we will choose one player from the 'A' team.

"The captain will then be chosen after our first week training in Alpe d'Huez.

"I already have an idea on who it will be but the players will also have their say."

One of the criticisms levelled at the team last year was the lack of tall centres, but Bergeaud believes that size should not matter if the likes of Julian, Vincent Masingue and Claude Marquis maintain their hunger and aggression.

		Antoine Rigaudeau

"We have the centres that we have and we must accept them," explained Bergeaud.

"We don't have any tall centres but we should be proud of what we have.

"Our players are combative, they are real fighters who showed last year what they were capable of."

Les Bleus will start their preparations on August 7 in Alpe D'Huez where they will stay until August 20 before travelling to Spain and Turkey.

They will be back in France at the start of September for a tournament held in Limoges, where they will take on Turkey, Ukraine and Bulgaria between September 8 and 10.

Bergeaud will unveil his final 12-man squad for Euro 2005 during the tournament in Limoges.

"The original idea is to have two point guards, two power forwards and three centres," added Bergeaud.

"We start the preparations with a large group and we will end up down to 12."

Squad:

Cyril Akpomedah (Cholet), Boris Diaw (Atlanta), Mamoutou Diarra (Paris BR), Alain Digbeu (Alicante), Frederic Fauthoux (Pau Orthez), Mickael Gelabale (Real Madrid), Sacha Giffa (Pau-Orthez), Joseph Gomis (Lugo), Cyril Julian (Valencia), Claude Marquis (Cholet), Vincent Masingue (Nancy), Tony Parker (San Antonio), Florent Pietrus (Malaga), Mickael Pietrus (Golden State), Antoine Rigaudeau (Valencia).

Reserve: Laurent Foirest (Pau Orthez).