By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
In his meeting with the local press in Slovenia, Luka Doncic implied that Vlatko Cancar and Josh Nebo, two key members of the Slovenian national team, will not play in the EuroBasket because they didn’t got permission from their club, Olimpia Milan.
However this is not the case according to the Italian club.
An official statement was released by Milan’s GM Christos Stavropoulos, in which he clarified the situation.
According to Stavropoulos the players agreed to stay out of the EuroBasket due to health concerns: “Regarding some recent media reports, I would like to clarify on behalf of the club that the health of our players has always been and always will be our priority. In the specific cases of Vlatko Cancar and Josh Nebo, I need to point out that both players are recovering from very serious injuries that severely limited their availability during the last season. In agreement with them, a procedure for their gradual return to action will be implemented to safeguard principally their health and long-term competitiveness.”
Doncic had said that contrary to his case with the Lakers, Milan has blocked his teammates from competing with the national team: “I don’t hold anything against them. From what I understand, their club made the decision. It’s interesting — a club like the Lakers lets me play, but Milano doesn’t. In my opinion, it should always be the player’s decision, but they’re not to blame”.
It has to be noted that there are very specific health rules by FIBA which are used in determining the eligibility of the players for the national teams tournaments when there are health concerns.