New options for Kosovo in World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers
PRISTINA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers) - Kosovo have several new faces in their 14-man squad that coach Brad Greenberg has in training for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers.
Kosovo-born Lis Shoshi, who played big minutes for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock the past two seasons, as well as former Slovenia national team players Erjon Kastrati and Gezim Morina are among the 14 working out.
Also included in the squad are 6ft 11in (2.12m) domestic league centers Urim Zenelaj and Ergin Grosha. A player that is going to be crucial to the cause in the Pre-Qualifiers is Dardan Berisha of Italian club Juvecaserta.
Berisha, a 6ft 3in (1.91m) shooting guard, averaged 14.7 points per game for Kosovo last summer in their FIBA EuroBasket 2017 qualifying campaign. He represented Poland at FIBA EuroBasket 2011 and was their second-leading scorer.
| Kosovo 14-player squad ahead of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers | ||||
| Dardan Berisha | Ergin Grosha | Arti Hajdari | Drilon Hajrizi | Erion Kastrati |
| Leonard Mekaj | Gëzim Morina | Fisnik Rugova | Granit Rugova | Lis Shoshi |
| Jaren Sina | Alban Veseli | Samir Zekiqi | Urim Zenelaj | |
Justin Doellman, a naturalized player in last year's team, is unavailable for Kosovo this summer due to injury while both Scott Bamforth and Shawn Jones are attempting to recover from various knocks. Kosovo could add one in the coming days if the recovery of either goes well.
Shoshi is an intriguing player. He averaged 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Trojans this past season. He also got to meet one of the most famous people in the world who hails from Arkansas, former United States President Bill Clinton.
Kosovo will play against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) and Estonia in Group C of the Pre-Qualifiers. They will need to finish in the top two to clinch a spot in the World Cup European Qualifiers.
"There's a lot to do in a short time and practices are demanding," Greenberg said. "This is a uniquely great opportunity for the players, coaches and federation and it demands teamwork and a commitment to reach our capacity."
Kosovo will have a warm-up game against Austria in Kapfenberg on July 15, against the Slovak Republic on July 18 and July 19 in Bratislava and versus Albania on July 22 and July 23 in Tirana.
In the Pre-Qualifiers, Kosovo are to host the Macedonias on August 2 and play at Estonia seven days later. Greenberg and his players will then go up against Macedonia in Skopje on August 12 before finishing at home against Estonia on August 19.
FIBA
