Presidential support for the Croatian basketball team.
Croatian president Kolinda Grabar Kitarović held a reception for the players, coaching staff and the leadership of the Croatian basketball team that will from 5 to 20 September participate in the 39th European Basketball Championships, reports Jutarnji List on September 4, 2015.
“Being the host for one of the groups of the European Championship is a great honour and a tribute to all our players. I believe that your success during this Eurobasket, which we are jointly organizing with three other countries, will contribute to popularisation of basketball in our country. Like the whole of Croatia, we will in the coming days be with you and wholeheartedly support you. We do expect a medal, but you have to play without any additional pressure as best as you know, and I believe that the success is certain to follow”, said president Grabar Kitarović.
On behalf of the basketball players and officials, the president of the Croatian Basketball Federation Ivan Šuker thanked the president. “In this championship we will try to show that Croatian basketball can again be what it was in the past, during the Dražen Petrović era. We know how important sport is for the promotion of our country, and I am confident that these players, along with the coach Velimir Perasović and other members the coaching staff, will give their best”, said Šuker.
On behalf of the players, the president was thanked by the team captain Roko Leni Ukić, who also gave her a Croatian national team jersey signed by all the players, as well as a Croatian national team jersey with the number 4 and name Kolinda on it. He invited the president to support the team in that jersey in the arena in Zagreb where the Croatian team will play their matches.
The first match is scheduled against Slovenia on Saturday (9 pm), followed by Greece on Sunday (9 pm), Macedonia on Tuesday (9 pm), the Netherlands on Wednesday (9 pm), and finally Georgia on Thursday (6 pm). The first four teams from the group C will continue to the second round which will be played in France.
