Croatia basketball stars Ivica Zubac & Dario Saric ready for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament final against Greece

“We’re not the favourites. They have all the pressure. We have all the motivation in the world to play at the Olympics.

“We’re going to give our best, and hopefully that’s going to be enough to get us the win.”

With Croatia now one win away from qualifying for the Olympics, Zubac revealed what competing at Paris 2024 would mean to him.

“It’s very important to us, and for me especially. I’ve never been part of an Olympic Games. I heard it’s something every athlete should experience.

“As a team we don’t get many chances to compete at big tournaments, and it doesn’t get any bigger than the Olympics. We want to be there [Paris 2024], and we’re going to do our best to make sure we qualify.

In the home of the Olympian pantheon, it seems fitting that Sunday’s final will no doubt be an epic contest worthy of the mythlogocial battles between the gods and titans of ancient Greece.

We, like Zubac, can’t wait.