Sweden coach Kostas Flevarakis insists his main concern this summer is making sure his players improve on the performances of last season, regardless of whether or not they qualify for EuroBasket 2007.
Sweden will be one of 10 countries competing in the additional qualifying round in August to decide who will take the final spot at EuroBasket 2007.
| “ | Each of the last two years has been better than the year before it, and I want us to continue that trend. | „ | ||||
| Kostas Flevarakis | ||||||
"I am looking forward to working with the national team again," he said, "because in the last two summers we had a good time.
"We have a chance in qualifying if we play well but the main goal for me is to improve the team season on season.
"Each of the last two years has been better than the year before it, and I want us to continue that trend."
The Swedes finished their initial qualifying campaign last summer with wins over Ukraine and Bulgaria, and Flevarakis was happy with how the victories were received by the Swedish public.
"So many people in Sweden were happy because we beat Ukraine and Bulgaria," he added.
"They started to believe in the national team which is good, as two seasons ago when I started there was no belief. Now I know that more and more people want to come and watch us."
The Swedish squad contains many young players, and Flevarakis admits it will be crucial to find the ideal balance between youth and experience if his team is to succeed.
He said: "My main concern is always to help the young players.
"But we need to combine them in the best possible way with the ones who have experience. If we can do that, we have a good chance."
