The Croatian Basketball Federation are confident that they can make an impact at the forthcoming EuroBasket in Spain despite the withdrawal of some key players.
Utah Jazz guard Gordan Giricek and former captain Nikola Vijcic have removed themselves from consideration from the tournament, which tips off in September.
But federation secretary Zeljko Draksic told PA Sport: "We are all optimistic here and I know the guys will be 100% ready for everything.
"We must play like a team and we plan to qualify for the next Olympic Games as a minimum.
"Vujcic has decided that he definitely won't come, maybe next time, and without players like Vujcic or Giricek it will be hard to take a medal.
"It will be a strong tournament and there are maybe 12 teams who have the chance to qualify for the Olympics."