Croatia will play Lithuania on September 14 in Osijek.
The president of the Croatian Basketball Federation (HKS) Stojko Vranković announced the continuation of qualifications for the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the match against Lithuania, which will be played on September 14 at Osijek’s City Garden Stadium, reports Index.hr on August 28, 2018.
“I thank Osijek for the unconditional support given to us before the match against Lithuania, which is very important to us, and I hope the hall will be full, that the atmosphere will be good and that we will return the favor to the public with good play and a victory. It should be stressed that the Croatian national basketball team, for the first time in history, will play with four NBA players. Unfortunately, Dragan Bender and Mario Hezonja have canceled their appearance, but with the players we have, we can play a quality match and continue to advance to the World Cup,” Vranković said.
“Looking at the results of the younger U-20 and U-16 teams and them becoming European Champions, we think we have a good prospect for the future of Croatian basketball. But there is a lot of work ahead of us, Lithuania is a strong opponent, among the top ten teams in the world, a basketball country, and with them, basketball is the number one sport.”
The game in Osijek will also be of a humanitarian character, announced a member of the HKS Board, Ivica Mlinarević.
“We decided to donate 20 basketballs to two basketball schools selected by County representatives,” said Mlinarević.
