Serbia & Montenegro need no extra motivation for EuroBasket 2005. The failures of EuroBasket 2003 and the 2004 Olympics, along with the home court advantage at the brand new Belgrade Arena should help to carry the side towards their one goal, climbing back to the top of Europe 4 years after their last triumph.

Serbia and Montenegro – basketball land, is to host the best European basketball national teams for a third time. In the past, serving as the host nation has brought the country nothing but luck. In 1961, Yugoslavia won their first ever EuroBasket medal, a silver at the event which was held in Belgrade. Fourteen years later in 1975 they added a gold, the second of three consecutive EuroBasket triumphs.

		Vlade Divac at the 1988 Olympic Games

Despite recent setbacks, Serbia & Montenegro are still the World Champions and the only objective in 2005 will be EuroBasket gold. With a total of 14 titles to their name, (5 world, 8 European and 1 Olympic), they are the most successful basketball region in Europe. Add to that the 4 silver and 1 Olympic bronze, 3 World Championship silver and 2 bronze and 5 European silver and 4 bronze medals, and it is clear why expectations are so high.

EuroBasket 2005 will probably mark the farewell of a number of Serb & Montenegrin players who have contributed to a remarkable decade of international success. Having missed EuroBasket 1993 due to sanctions, the team that showed up to EuroBasket 1995 in Greece under the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, marked their return to international competition with a bang. They won the gold medal in an exceptionally dramatic final game against Lithuania, and the newly born gods from Olympia were called Djordjevic, Danilovic, Divac, Paspalj, Savic, Bodiroga…

		Dejan Bodiroga

2 years later the title was defended in Barcelona, and in 1999, the bronze medal won in France was a success considering the political turmoil that Yugoslavia went through in the run-up to the championship. In 2001, they were back on top of Europe with a dominant display at EuroBasket in Turkey. Bodiroga, Stojakovic, Tomasevic, Jaric, Scepanovic and Drobnjak demonstrated the art of modern basketball at its best and were untouchable on the way to the gold medal. It goes without saying that that these great professionals, worldwide recognized players and masters of their craft will do their best to say adieu to the national uniform in their native country, before their fans, in a way appropriate to their reputation, that is, by winning the gold medal.

The coach, Zeljko Obradovic, assisted by such names as Dragan Sakota and the first European NBA coach Igor Kokoskov, has a tough assignment. That is to rebuild the self-confidence of the blue squad shattered after the failures at EuroBasket 2003 in Sweden (6th) and the last Olympic Games (11th) in Athens, where the “Plavi” took positions far below their expectations and potential.

		Vladimir Radmanovic

The class of players that Zeljko Obradovic can rely on is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Serbia and Montenegro currently has ten players in the NBA. Unfortunately, the head coach has only seven of these guys available: Radmanovic, Jaric, Rebraca, Krstic, Pavlovic and Milicic, while Divac, Stojakovic and Drobnjak are not in the team.

With Aleksandar Djordjevic ending his professional career and Milos Vujanic injured, Rakocevic and Jaric will form a formidable backcourt.

Dejan Bodiroga and Dejan Tomasevic have consistently been Europe’s best players for years and are, along with Zeljko Rebraca, the only remaining members of the 1995 EuroBasket gold medal team. Rebraca is back in the squad after a five year break. Milan Gurovic, who destroyed the USA “Dream team” in Indianapolis with his three-point shooting, is also back after missing Athens. A lot is expected from Vlado Scepanovic, Vladimir Radmanovic and of course the four–time YUBA league MVP, Dejan Milojevic. And last but not least, young hopes such as Nenad Krstic, Darko Milicic and Aleksandar Pavlovic will have the chance to show what they are made of. It is certain that the World champions will not lack the desire to complete their collection with a trophy from Belgrade.

However, despite the quality of the names on paper, the true value must be proved on the court. The “Plavi” will have a very tough job if they want to reach their desired objective. With a combination of the enthusiasm of youth and the enormous experience of the veterans, united in a common desire for success, they will hope to return Europe’s basketball crown back to the capital of Serbia and Montenegro.