Those who grew up in the peaceful SFRY enjoyed the role of Ace the postman in the cult educational series on TV Belgrade. Its abbreviation ŠBB KBB has survived to this day, because when many people wonder if something could have been different, they remember the name of that series - "What if, if it were".
And, really, what would happen if the basketball team had better luck in the draw for the Mundobasket in China? What if they had a dominant foreigner, like Omar Cook, Taylor Rochesti and Tyrese Rice, and not a solid Derrick Needham (and nothing more), a player who is not the first option even in his position? Maybe the "reds" today, like Poland or the Czech Republic, would play the quarter-finals of the World Cup, and not land in Podgorica as the official 25th team on the planet.
That famous ŠBB KBB can also be used in the case of Nikola Vučević. The NBA All-Star participant and the player who signed a four-year contract with Orlando, worth 100 million dollars, would surely play much better and have a significantly greater effect if the back line of Montenegro was of better quality.
The rivals knew that he and Bojan Dubljević were in the greatest danger, so they "charged" the racket, and with their aggressive defense, they didn't even allow the defenders to assist them...
- Whether it could have been more or not, it is difficult to analyze at this moment. The group was quite difficult, all difficult opponents. Greece is a very strong national team, Brazil is also very experienced, while New Zealand plays atypical basketball and the duel with them did not suit us very well. In the end, we beat Japan and we are going home more satisfied - said Vucevic for "Vijesti".
The Orlando ace takes a realistic view of the performance in China.
- This is the first experience for us in this kind of competition, we tried hard, we fought and we have nothing to complain about. As for the game, those are the details that need to be analyzed. The effort was there, the desire too, but it wasn't enough. Just the fact that we were here, at the World Cup, is a big deal for Montenegrin basketball.
Except in the 1st round against Greece, when they played a disastrous 1st half and scored only 16 points, and in the last five minutes against Turkey, Zvezdan Mitrović's team left a completely correct impression. She lost to New Zealand and Brazil, although she had a chance to triumph.
- Against New Zealand it was quite a difficult and tiring game. We were in deficit for most of the match, but we came back and managed to take the lead. Then we seemed to run out of energy, we didn't hit the open shots and the defeat followed. Against Brazil, we played quite well, but we didn't manage to close the game. The defeat against Turkey is perhaps the most difficult for us, because we played brilliantly for 35 minutes, but in the last five we lost control of the game, because we did not respond well to their pressing - stressed the 28-year-old Baranin.
It was the pressing of the rivals that was an unsolvable enigma for the defenders of Montenegro, because they lost games against New Zealand and Turkey due to poor transfer of the ball.
- These are all the experiences that are created through these kinds of competitions. However, we are a very young team, especially in the outer positions. We should not be dissatisfied, we are a small country, a small national team, we came here to try to do the championship as well as we can. We were not lucky with the group either, but we can be satisfied, because we showed and fought quite well.
In the end, Vučević was the first scorer (average 14,6, only Nikola Ivanović with 11,8 and Dubljević with 10) and the second best jumper of Montenegro (6,4, behind Dubljević with 7,2) were in double figures, but it was it is obvious that he is under great attention of the opponents as our only NBA player.
- It is logical that the opponents scouted our games in the preparatory period, they knew that our greatest quality is under the basket. They tried to create a lot of problems for us, to close the racket, not to give much space inside. It was not easy, we expected that. At the end of the championship, we managed a little better, but against teams like Greece and Brazil, it is expected that they will scout you and take away your best qualities - concluded Vucevic.
I hope we can go to Eurobasket
Nikola Vučević did not play in the qualifiers for Mundobasket, and he will not play in the qualifiers for the European Championship either, because the matches will be played in February 2020 and 2021, as well as in November 2020. He hopes that the "red" in the competition of France, Germany and Great of Britain to win one of the first three places. Perhaps they would have to be others, because the Germans, as one of the four hosts of the Eurobasket, are guaranteed participation.
- The group is difficult, with France, Germany and Great Britain. Again, there are specific qualifications, it is not known which players will be able to be there and which will not. It suited us in the World Cup qualifiers, maybe for the Eurobasket as well. I am sure that we have a chance to qualify - emphasized Vučević, the only player who wore the jersey of Montenegro in all four major competitions.
I want an even better season, both mine and Orlando
Last season was the best in the NBA for Nikola Vučević, as he broke the best averages in the four most important categories - in points (20,8), rebounds (12), assists (3,8) and blocks (1,1). He became a part of history, because he was selected for the All-Star weekend (from the former Yugoslavia only Vlade Divac, Predrag Stojaković, Goran Dragić and Nikola Jokić received that recognition), but he is not satisfied with that.
- The goal is always to improve, for me and the team to play better. We will be more experienced for the year, we will also have that experience from the playoffs, and this will be our second season with a coach who has brought and helped us a lot. The team is the same, it will be easy for us to create a game that helped us last season, especially in the second half. I expect a better season, and the Eastern Conference has weakened a bit, so we will have a chance to make a good result. Even I can play better than last season, because I am more experienced and I can do some things more easily on the field, Vucevic said.
Bonus video:
