Serbia's Basketball Team Gathers for Qualifiers: Nikola Jokić Arrives Early

The Serbian national basketball team convened this Monday at noon at a well-known Belgrade hotel, ahead of their World Cup 2027 qualifying matches.

The 'Eagles' are set to face Switzerland away on July 2nd, followed by a home game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 6th. Prior to these official qualifiers, Dušan Alimpijević's squad will also play a closed-door friendly against the Czech Republic on Saturday.

Coach Alimpijević's roster includes: Vasilije Micić (Hapoel), Aleksa Avramović (Dubai), Stefan Miljenović (Crvena zvezda), Jovan Novak (King Szczecin), Arijan Lakić (Partizan), Filip Barna (FMP), Ognjen Dobrić (Crvena zvezda), Nikola Đurišić (Crvena zvezda), Nemanja Dangubić (Dubai), Dejan Davidovac (Crvena zvezda), Stefan Momirov (Spartak), Tristan Vukčević (Washington Wizards), Nikola Tanasković (Budućnost), Nikola Jović (Miami Heat), Strahinja Gavrilović (Igokea), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets), Dušan Ristić (Kawasaki Brave Thunders), Uroš Plavšić (Bordeaux).

Almost all players reported by Monday noon, with Nikola Jokić notably arriving Sunday evening.

The Serbian basketball team will hold their first practice this Monday afternoon.

As previously announced, team captain Bogdan Bogdanović will miss this qualifying window. Regular national team members Nikola Milutinov, Filip Petrušev, and Marko Gudurić are also absent, as is the injured Vanja Marinković.

Nikola Kalinić, who played in the initial clash against Turkey, is not on the current roster. In previous games where Bogdanović was unavailable, center Dušan Ristić wore the captain's armband.

Serbia suffered defeats in their last two World Cup qualifiers against Turkey, making every upcoming match in the competition potentially decisive.

Video: Dobrić took over the timeout instead of Alimpijević: We have to stop him!