Serbia & Montenegro star Peja Stojakovic is set to decide at the end of the NBA season if he will represent his country at this year's FIBA World Championship in Japan.

Stojakovic, who was recently traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Indiana Pacers, has missed the last two major international tournaments for his country and his presence has been sorely missed.

In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Serbia & Montenegro finished 11th out of 12 teams while at last year's EuroBasket - a tournament they were hosting - the nation also fell at the first hurdle.

However, the national team could be boosted by the return of a player widely regarded to be their best for the World Championship, where they are the two-time defending champions.

Speaking following the appointment of his former mentor Dragan Sakota as the new Serbia & Montenegro coach, Stojakovic admits he still wants to represent his country.

"During the season I never think about what will I do when summer comes," he told the Serbian edition of broadcast service 'Voice of America'.

"Still, I've always had a wish to play for my country. I've shown that many times, but in the last couple of years we couldn't reach an appropriate agreement.

"For the Athens Olympics my arrival date for the build-up stayed an unsolved problem, and in 2005, for the European championship, which was held in Serbia & Montenegro, I wanted to take a break and relax because of numerous injuries.

"And now...who knows? We'll have to be patient and see what the summer brings to us all," added the forward-guard, who was part of the Yugoslavia side that won their second successive world title in Indianapolis four years ago and also captained his country at EuroBasket 2003 in Sweden.

Stojakovic's final decision could be influenced by Tuesday's announcement that Red Star Belgrade coach Sakota would take over the national team reins from Zeljko Obradovic, who resigned after the country's abysmal EuroBasket 2005 campaign.

Stojakovic played under Sakota as a teenager with Greek side PAOK and the 28-year-old is a confirmed fan of his.

"I've heard the news that Sakota was unanimously elected as the new head coach after Zeljko Obradovic stepped down. This is good news, very good news. I really think he'll do good things for our basketball in the upcoming period," Stojakovic said.