The goal was met, even exceeded - the Montenegrin basketball players defeated Latvia 61:58 and with their second victory secured at least a place in the eighth finals of the 39th Eurobasket, and in the worst case, as second place in group A.
Jelena Škerović's team could directly reach the quarterfinals and head to Ljubljana already tomorrow, but for that it is necessary for Greece to create a sensation and defeat Spain tonight (19.45:XNUMX p.m.).
If the "red fury" triumphs, the "reds" will play in the round of XNUMX in Tel Aviv with the third-ranked team from group B, which will most likely be Italy.
Montenegro struggled for a long time in the attack, in the 1st half they shot poorly from the field, especially three-pointers, which is why they scored only 24 points before the big break.
At the start of the continuation, the Latvians twice had plus eight (32:24 and 34:26), after which the "red" woke up.
Nataša Mek scored six points, Božica Mujović a three-pointer, and Marija Leković two shots in the 11:0 series, with which Montenegro overturned to 37:34.
Soon there was a record plus seven (45:38), after Jelena Vučetić's third triple and Mujović's shot from five meters.
Then, however, Tantalo's troubles followed - nobody could hit the basket, and the time for the attack was often running out, before Mujović's three-pointer with five minutes and 38 seconds to the end brought back the five differences (50:45).
It didn't end there - Vučetić hit two shots, Milica Jovanović finally woke up and made a three-pointer, so that Mek would bring her 20th point to a double-digit advantage at the end of the 37th minute.
Kitija Lakša responded immediately with a three-pointer and an additional throw, and then with another goal from behind the 6,75 line reduced the difference to only three with 94 seconds left (59:56).
After baskets by Jovanović and Aneta Štajnberga, the "reds" lost the ball, and the Latvians got an attack with 45 seconds left. They didn't use it, and after the time-out, Škerović gave the basket to Mack, but it turned out that she didn't shoot in time.
The Latvians had 2,1 seconds left to shoot for overtime, but they got tangled up and didn't even try in time.
Nataša Mack played a phenomenal match and recorded 22 points, 20 rebounds, three assists and two steals and rebounds for an index of 37.
Vučetić scored 11 points, Mujović 10, Jovanović nine, and it is interesting that the victory was registered even though Dragana Živković was not included in the list of scorers.
She was out of the game for only two minutes and 33 seconds, missed all four shots, but played excellent defense, as evidenced by the fact that with her on the court, Montenegro scored 10 more points than Latvia.
Or vice versa - while she was out of the game for a little over two and a half minutes in the 1st quarter, the team from the Baltics made an 11:4 run.
Bonus video:
