SARAJEVO (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) - Bosnia and Herzegovina head coach Damir Mulaomerovic is in optimistic mood with about six weeks remaining to the start of the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers and a look at the list of players he has invited to training camp is enough to make you understand why.

"Both of our NBA players, Mirza Teletovic and Jusuf Nurkic, are coming back to play," Mulaomerovic told FIBA.com. "We also have a lot of established veterans and some talented young players. We have guys with quality who want to prove themselves. I think this is the best team we can have right now, I believe fully in this team. I have been following everybody and I am convinced we will have a pretty strong team for this qualification campaign."

The sharp-shooting Teletovic had missed out on FIBA EuroBasket 2015 because of a serious threat to his health (bilateral pulmonary embolus). Jurkic had only played for the senior national team during a few minutes in September 2012, when he was just 18 years old. Training camp starts on 25 July and the NBA duo will join preparations in August, as per the relevant agreement.

The only doubt in Mulaomerovic's mind is whether he will able to count on the third big star, Nihad Dedovic, who became a naturalised German citizen last year and gave up his Bosnia and Herzegovina citizenship in the process. The coach cut four players, Nemanja Mitrovic, Imran Polutak, Njegos Sikiras and Zack Wright, from the 24-strong preliminary team he had announced in June. But youngsters like 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship sensation Dzanan Musa will be given the chance to make the team.

"It is a difficult group but we will fight to finish first" - Mulaomerovic

“We are not going to waste time, we will focus on building our chemistry from the first day of training camp, starting immediately on the basketball court,” Mulaomerovic, who is also the coach of famed Croatian side Cibona Zagreb, said. “I hope of course that the players will come in good physical condition and we can practice with the ball right away. I will dedicate seven-eight days to the young players, to acclimatise them to the team and check out whether they can already play at this level.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina aim at their fourth consecutive appearance in the Final Round of a FIBA EuroBasket tournament, but they will have to overcome the obstacle of Russia and Sweden in Group C of the Qualifiers.

“I am very optimistic and I hope that we are going to succeed although we have a difficult group as both Russia and Sweden are very good teams, very strong opponents,” Mulaomerovic said. “But I think we can compete with them, it will be a matter of having the will to win and having the right chemistry.”

“If we play as a team we have a very good chance, we will fight to be first in this group or at the very least to finish as the best second-placed team. But to succeed in our goal, we must remember that every single point, every single rebound will be important.”

FIBA