FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament: Croatia stars Ivica Zubac & Dario Saric preview final against hosts Greece

By William Imbo
5 min|
Ivica Zubac
Picture by FIBA

The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Piraeus, Greece reaches its zenith today (Sunday 7 July), with two teams left standing after a week of competition: hosts Greece, led by NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo, and 1992 Olympic silver medallists Croatia.

While Antetokounmpo is understandably the biggest name at the tournament, Croatia has NBA talent of its own in the form of Dario Saric (Denver Nuggets) and Ivica Zubac (Los Angeles Clippers).

Greece will enjoy the not inconsequential backing of a fiery home crowd when Sunday's final tips-off at 21:00 EEST, giving further weight to Greece's pre-tournament label as favourites to win the OQT and qualify for the men's basketball competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

But Croatia, thanks to a deep team with a strong mix of established veterans and exciting young talent, has every chance of upsetting the odds and beating Hellas on their home court.

Team Croatia.

Picture by FIBA

"We're a young team," Zubac told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview. A 7-foot (2.13m) titan, Zubac is averaging 27 points and 11 rebounds in just 27 minutes of game time at the OQT.

"Most of the guys played together at youth tournaments at the under-16, 17, 18, and 19 age groups. A lot of guys still play together for their club teams. We won at the youth level, so we have that chemistry and history with each other. I think we have what it takes [to qualify]."

Croatia—a basketball-mad nation—has been successful at the youth level, winning a combined seven gold medals at the FIBA U-18 and U-16 European championships, with the most recent success coming in 2018.

But it's been almost 30 years since the senior side won a medal at an international tournament (bronze at EuroBasket 1995). Back at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, NBA champion Toni Kukoc led Croatia to the gold medal game where they faced the legendary U.S. 'Dream Team' (the USA won that game 117-85).

The silver they won in Barcelona is Croatia's only Olympic medal to date, and the 'Chequered Ones' missed out on competing at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo and the FIBA World Cup last year.

But after a brutal contest against the Dominican Republic on Saturday (6 July) night (a game in which Zubac led all players with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks), Croatia now find themselves one win away from earning one of the final four spots for the men's basketball competition at Paris 2024.

Standing in their way are Greece, a basketball-obsessed nation in its own right who last competed at the Olympic Games in 2008.

Greece head coach Vassilis Spanoulis remembers those Games in Beijing well.

"I remember 2008, I played there and it was a great experience," Spanoulis told Olympics.com. It was the last time we [Greece] competed at the Games.

"There's nothing better than competing at an Olympic Games. It's a huge honour and great experience, and that's why we're here: to do everything possible to get there."

Speaking after their semi-final win over the Dominican Republic, Croatia captain Saric admitted that facing Greece in the final will be a tough challenge.

"Obviously Greece are the tournament favourites. They're playing great and have a great coach.

"But in one game, anything can happen.

"We need to come [to the game] with a little more edge, play good basketball and make it a real fight."

Dario Saric of Croatia.

Picture by FIBA

Zubac echoed his teammates comments, adding that he was excited to face Antetokounmpo and Greece in the final.

"It's going to be amazing.

"I expect a full arena, a great crowd, and we're going to enjoy it.

It's going to be a physical game. They're a big team, we're a big team, and we have to be aggressive from the start. I can't wait for it."

Zubac, who played in 68 NBA games for the Clippers last season, also noted that Greece's home court advantage could act as a double-edged sword for the hosts.

"We're not the favourites. They have all the pressure. We have all the motivation in the world to play at the Olympics.

"We're going to give our best, and hopefully that's going to be enough to get us the win."

With Croatia now one win away from qualifying for the Olympics, Zubac revealed what competing at Paris 2024 would mean to him.

"It's very important to us, and for me especially. I've never been part of an Olympic Games. I heard it's something every athlete should experience.

"As a team we don't get many chances to compete at big tournaments, and it doesn't get any bigger than the Olympics. We want to be there [Paris 2024], and we're going to do our best to make sure we qualify.

In the home of the Olympian pantheon, it seems fitting that Sunday's final will no doubt be an epic contest worthy of the mythlogocial battles between the gods and titans of ancient Greece.

We, like Zubac, can't wait.