When asked whether the first preliminary matches came too soon (the match against Canada will be followed by two more matches as a part of Adecca cup, i.e. against Georgia and Ukraine – both will be transmitted by TV SLO 2 and MMC) Zdovc answered: "I must admit I am starting to panic. You keep telling yourself that everything will be all right, but then you think about the time lost in travel, during media days, by shooting advertisements, and training sessions you have to cancel consequently. But perhaps the concentration is deeper, and more can be done in a shorter period."

Special programmes for E. Lorbek and G. Dragić
The national team started their preparations on Wednesday. After some days of extremely difficult training (and according to Zdovc all the players, with the exception of two, are very well prepared) today for the first time the training was somewhat more relaxed. Erazem Lorbek trains separately due to ankle injury, while Goran Dragić, whom Zdovc selected for the captain of the team, did not train. His club Phoenix allowed him to play only three friendly matches – against Greece, Brasil and the USA. Edo Murić has returned from the USA, while Zdovc is still waiting for the three young players participating at the U-20 European Championship (Matic Rebec, Aleksej Nikolič and Tomaž Bolčina). Rebec and Nikolić could test their hand at preliminary matches as playmakers.

Shortage of playmakers
Jure Zdovc compared the present situation with the year 2009, when he led Slovenia to 4th place: "We have some minor problems, but nothing special. The situation is different than it was five years ago, when everything was clear from the beginning, and we focused on the chosen group of players. Now we are not done yet, we are still searching, but after the tournament in China we will be all together, and there will still be enough time for preparations. The first matches have really arrived rather soon. Goran Dragić won't play, and we have only Jaka Blažič at the playmaker position, plus he can't be considered a 'pure' playmaker. We'll see if the boys U-20 can give us a hand. We would like to include them into the system quickly, which won't be easy, as they will join us only on Tuesday evening."

The emphasize on defence and transition
On what are you putting the greatest emphasize in training, considering the fact that the only real centre is Alen Omić? "Defence, and transition attack. We know our team is fast and very athletic, and that will be one of our strongest weapons. We would like to play the transition in an organized, smart manner, and make as little mistakes as possible. Last year we needlessly lost the ball a number of times. For now we are doing well," said Zdovc, who will however need some more time to get to know the team completely. "You think you know the team, but that is not enough – you need to feel it as well."

T. O.
Translated by G. K.