Macedonia Releases Final Roster for Men’s Olympic Qualifiers

Looking to surprise the world once again, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is now on the final stages of their preparation and has released their final roster for the upcoming 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men.

Bo McCalebb, who led Macedonia’s impressive run in last year’s EuroBasket, headlines the squad and is now with the team in Atlanta, Georgia where the team is currently having their training camp including test games against collegiate basketball squads.

McCalebb recently had an impressive stint in Italy, helping Montepaschi Siena defeat Olimpia Milano, 4-1, in their Lega A title series.

Pero Antic, who also a key factor on Macedonia’s semis stint in last year’s European championship, also made the cut once again, but handed the team captain tag to Predrag Samardziski, whom he believe will prove that he deserve to lead their squad.

“It is a great honor,” new captain Samardziski said. “I hope I will justify this decision, the trust of the whole team.”

Macedonia split their recent test games, but national team coach Marjan Lazovski reiterated that they won’t use it to gauge their possible performance in the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers.

“The results of these games are not a priority,” Lazovski said. “We are still preparing for the climax in Venezuela so we are trying to find our best form and our best combinations on the floor.”

Macedonia is tipped to top Group D in which they will go up against former African champions Angola and New Zealand.

The 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men will run from July 2 to 8 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Macedonia Roster for 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men

• Bo McCalebb
• Vlado Ilievski
• Pero Antic
• Todor Gecevski
• Gjorgji Cekovski
• Vojdan Stojanovski
• Damjan Stojanovski
• Darko Sokolov
• Marko Simonovski
• Kiril Nikolovski
• Aleksandar Kostovski
• Predrag Samardziski