Croatia coach Aco Petrovic is sticking with what he knows, by naming the same 12 players for his final roster that won the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Turin nearly three weeks ago.
In that squad includes the MVP from the qualifiers, Dario Saric. Free scoring forward Bojan Bogdanovic, high-flying Mario Hezonja and veteran Krunoslav Simon also make the cut.
Coach Petrovic had said moments after his side’s Olympic qualifying final win that his 12 players had earned the right to go to Brazil while at the same time admitting there were one or two spots in the team that could be strengthened.
“I need to make one or two changes to reinforce the team, but I’m in big doubt,” he said.
“And probably I’m not going to make any changes because this team came when nobody believed in them. They stayed for one month, or 32 days together. And now, I’m in a difficult situation.
“I need to have a little bit more quality in the rotation. But I can’t turn my back on the team that made this qualification. I need to think.”
But, after much thought, Petrovic stuck to his guns and went with what he knows, as Croatia make their first Olympic appearance since 2008. They all be housed in Group B, where they face Argentina, Lithuania, Spain, Nigeria and the hosts Brazil.
