After 16 years, Croatia is back in the FIBA World Cup with a lot to add on their rich basketball heritage.

The country made some noise in the tournament in 1994 when three-time NBA champion Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja led the team to a 3^rd place finish in Toronto, Canada.

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The team survived the Preliminary Round in Turkey back in 2010 but lost to Serbia in a close game, 73-72.

Croatia now has high hopes that this year's campaign will show improvements as majority of the players that participated at EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia will be on board.

Also, Croatia does not lack the needed veteran presence on the court as some of the players who represented the team in 2010 will be compete again this year.

One notable name from the team is Dario Saric. Saric, 20, won the Most Valuable Player as well as the Final Four's MVP after leading Cibona on being the Adriatic League champion.

After his announcing of entering the international basketball scene 4 years ago, Bojan Bogdanovic can be the player who will standout for the Croatians.

Bogdanovic finished the EuroBasket 2013 with an impressive 17.4 points, a team-high record. Also, he is one of the players who made it to the All-Tournament team in Slovenia. He is a remarkable shooter with the ability to slash his way to the basket.

Another player to put emphasis on is Damjan Rudez. Rudez also made a statement with his excellent performance in Spain with CAI Zaragoza. He also signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers for the next NBA season.

Center Ante Tomic returns to clog the paint after giving Barcelona a lift to score an upset against Real Madrid in the Spanish Liga Endesa Finals.

With the leadership of veteran coach Jasmin Repesa, the Croatian team built an 8-game winning streak at the EuroBasket 2013 leading them to reach the tournament's Semi-Finals.

Croatia is on a mission to prove themselves in the Group B of this year's FIBA World Cup.

Tagsfiba world cup 2014, Croatia, eurobasket, dario saric, bojan bogdanovic, ante tomic