By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Aleksandar Petrovic will provide more assistance to the Croatia senior national team. From previously working as the head coach of the Chequered Ones, he switched to the new Sports Director.
Adjusting the structure of the management, the Croatian Basketball Federation created the new position and officially appointed Petrovic on Friday. The 63-year-old specialist accepted the invitation without hesitation, as underlined in the press release.
Petrovic, 63, coached the Croatia senior national team in three different stints. Efforts included finishing fifth in the 2016 Olympic Games alongside third place in the 1995 EuroBasket and seventh in the 2001 EuroBasket. Further international head coaching experience stems from Brazil and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Rytas, Cedevita, and Cibona figure among past head coaching jobs at the club level.
The new role presumably dives into the search for a new head coach. Under the guidance of Damir Mulaomerovic, Croatia was held to the 12th spot in the final rankings of the 2022 EuroBasket. In the aftermath of the tournament, former player Stojan Vrankovic resigned from the position of Federation president.
Out of contention for a ticket to the 2023 World Cup, Croatia has instead focused on the 2025 EuroBasket Qualifiers and is up to 2-0 in Group E. FIBA’s international windows scheduled for November and February will complete the round-robin schedule going to the next stage and the introduction of all teams currently in the World Cup Qualifiers. Narrowed to 24 national teams in the final stage, the next EuroBasket will be held in Cyprus, Finland, Latvia, and Poland.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL