Βy Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Just hours before the do or die game against Puerto Rico, the tension between Croatian national team players and coach Repesa erupted. The players announced to the federation that they don’t want to be coached by Repesa any more, asking for his immediate replacement by his assistant Zan Tabak.
With just hours left before the game, there will be more updates for this strange situation. However, it was evident after coach Repesa’s statements which followed the defeat by Senegal – “I would prefer to be born anywhere else but in the Balkans, because of the mentality of our team” – that the players were in odds with him.
Argentian journalist Pablo Viola reported the news first
Caos en Croacia. Huelga de jugadores para que renuncie Repesa, a 3 horas de jugarse el pase a octavos con PRC. Increíble! #Básquetbol
— Pablo Viola (@pviola14) September 4, 2014
UPDATE: All these reports forced Zan Tabak to say before the game: “I’m in basketball my whole life and I never stop wondering why there are people who enjoyed inventing such things. I’m surprised why someone needs to lie like that”. Jasmin Repesa coached his team like he did in all previous games.