President of the Basketball Association of Montenegro Nikola Pekovic he lives on the route Podgorica - Pljevlja - Zlatibor, and in the previous days he stayed in Belgrade.
The best center and Euroleague champion with Panathinaikos in the 2008/2009 season. and the former president of Partizan was always a magnet for the Serbian media, and for "Sportski žurnal" he spoke about the successes of Montenegrin basketball - the placement of senior men at the World Championship and senior women at Eurobasket.
"I would not single out only the placing of the basketball players at the World Championship, but I would emphasize that the basketball players have placed at the European Championship for the seventh time in a row. And how much success it is, is best illustrated by the fact that we have a base of 55 players", Peković began the story for "Žurnal".
Four years ago, Montenegro became the smallest country to make it to the Mundobasket in China, now the record has been "stolen" by the selection of the Cape Verde Islands. And the fact that the current vice-champion of the world Argentina, Turkey, Israel, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be in the Far East shows what success has been achieved.
"The qualifications took a long time, many details had to be taken care of, almost every point. In the end, we got into a position to decide our own fate, we beat the Czechs in the last round and qualified for the World Cup, which is a huge success for the players, the Federation and the country of Montenegro".
Although the "windows" are often criticized, Pekovic points out that he understands the depth of the idea of FIBA and the fact that this kind of competition system helps to strengthen the player base around the world, as well as to attract children to basketball. This also suits Montenegro, because there are not many players in the Euroleague and the NBA.
"We only missed him in the windows Bojan Dubljević, and he came and helped when his obligations allowed it. I don't know what kind of agreement will be reached between FIBA and the Euroleague, I see that they are trying to find a compromise again, but in the windows, countries like Montenegro are given a chance, not only to show their potential, but also to develop a base. Most of our players play in the ABA league and the Eurocup, they progressed through the qualifications, and we were able to include new forces and prepare them for the challenges in the years to come".
On the statement of "Žurnal" that there was not even a Chicago Bulls star Nikola Vucevic, both in the "windows" and at Eurobasket, the once best center in Europe did not want to spread the story:
"He said himself that he doesn't want to play".
Zvezdan Mitrovic left the helm of Montenegro after the Mundobasket in China, because he had to devote himself to his obligations in the then club, Asvelo, with which he played in the Euroleague. The previous management of KSCG then chose him as a coach Boško Radović, and Peković became the team manager, before becoming the president of the Association in May 2021.
"Bosko did an excellent job at the European Championship in Georgia, we qualified for the second stage. From the beginning of the qualification for the World Cup, he had a vision so that we could reach the result we want. The players came with great desire, willing to play for the national team. I have to emphasize the immense pleasure and satisfaction I always had when I saw that they were happy because they came and played," Peković emphasized.
Montenegro achieved its goal by qualifying for the second tied world championship, but it will not give up.
"We fulfilled the goal, but we want to present ourselves in the best possible light. To show that we are not there by chance and that we are a country that plays and loves basketball a lot. We achieved great success, everything we do at the World Cup will be an added plus".
Pekovic was the European champion with Panathinaikos, was one of the best centers in the NBA, and played with Montenegro at Eurobasket 2011 in Lithuania. Unfortunately, he ended his career too early due to an injury, so his wish to go to Mundobasket as a player was not fulfilled. Now he wants to be the president of the Association.
"I am convinced that the World Cup will be a spectacle. Whoever thinks and loves his country will play! Such a competition is always a magnet for the big players, the biggest stars. They are given the opportunity to show that they can play with some other players, because it is not the same when they play in the NBA and the Euroleague, so they are all top basketball players, there is a great mix in the national teams. For example, at Eurobasket we played with players from the ABA and ABA 2 leagues. Several of them from ABA 2 did an excellent job. I think that just appearing at the World Cup will mean a lot to those players in the future of their careers", Peković concluded.
Radović: We will play a friendly match with Serbia in Podgorica
Boško Radović was with Peković in Belgrade, and they were in the company of a well-known Montenegrin businessman Nebojše Mrvaljević.
The "Reds" coach revealed that Montenegro will play a control match with Serbia.
"We start preparations on July 21. We have already rounded up the plan in which there are five control games until the start of the World Cup. "We have scheduled matches with France on their field and Serbia in Podgorica, and we will also participate in the tournament in Georgia from August 11 to 13," said Radović.
The selector believes that the success of the national team is not only that it made it to Mundobasket, but also that it expanded its base.
"The biggest gain is that we achieved placement with the new and younger generation. We have two chances to compete for a place at the Olympic Games, but we should also look a little further. Shortly after the World Cup, already in November, the Eurobasket qualifiers begin. For them, we already have a base of players that we will rely on and several guys who won bronze last year in Podgorica who will also play a role in them. This encourages us and gives hope for Montenegrin basketball", said Radović.
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