Four participations in EuroBasket and two in WorldBasket are the current balance of the Montenegrin national basketball team in major competitions. That was until Sunday, and then on the last day of last week, our selection in northern Europe, in Stockholm, checked the visa for the fifth European Championship (EC), and the third in a row, which is a huge result and a great success, because Montenegro thus has continuity in playing in major competitions.
Since gaining independence, Montenegro has missed one European Championship, which was held in 2015. This means that in August, our team will mark exactly 10 years since it has been a regular participant in both European and world championships. Apart from basketball superpowers, not many countries can boast such a feat.
The road to EuroBasket started in February last year in Ludwigsburg - the qualifiers opened with a defeat to Germany (85:61), and then exactly a year ago, on February 25, Sweden fell in Podgorica (95:70). A decisive step was taken in November - Bulgaria was defeated both times (85:62, 90:86) and the "reds" came within reach of the final. Then, in the last "window", Montenegro was defeated in Podgorica by Germany (95:76) and in Stockholm by Sweden after overtime (86:83), but they never feared for a single moment for their passage.
What is characteristic of these qualifications is the fact that coach Boško Radović was never able to count on all the national team players, and that he had the strongest team in the two-match match with the Bulgarians, when only Petar Popović was missing. Like all players from the NBA League, Nikola Vučević missed the qualifications, while in February last year Radović could not count on Bojan Dubljević and Nikola Ivanović. Dubljević also missed the last "window", in which Igor Drobnjak and Marko Todorović were not present, Ivanovic played against Sweden, and that duel was missed by Marko Simonović, Vladimir Mihailović and Luka Bogavac. Also, the qualifications were completed without Kendrick Perry, who said goodbye to our national team, so Charlie Moore was expected to succeed him. But, basketball player Breogana injured his knee in December and did not play for the "reds".
- We did a great thing for our nation. We are proud that we managed to do a good job. From the first 'window' it was complicated, the group was strong, the composition was constantly changing. But whoever was there, they gave their best. We had unity. It was very nice, it was an honor for me to participate in this cycle - said Nemanja Radović.
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It is precisely togetherness, a great atmosphere and a great relationship that have characterized the basketball team for years, so we should expect our selection to be at its strongest at Eurobasket, if everyone is healthy. And it is assumed that the European Championship will be the last major competition in the national team jersey for the 34-year-old Vučević, Dubljević (33), Mihailović (34), Ivanović (31) and Radović (33), who are the leaders of the national team.
The next big competition is the 2027 World Cup in Qatar, but there are still qualifications to go through. A generational change will inevitably follow - when it comes to younger players, the list in February included Luka Bogavac and Đorđije Jovanović, who won a bronze medal with the youth team three years ago, as well as David Mirković and Balša Živanović. The wider list included Filip Andđušić and Andrija Grbović, and we should not forget Fedor Žugić, also bronze medalists three years ago in Podgorica.
And when it comes to the younger men's teams, which should represent the future, they will all be in action this summer, but they will all be in the B division - both the youth and cadet and junior national teams. So, far from the elite and matches with peers from the strongest European teams. And the younger teams need to be given a lot of attention and the Federation and the clubs should work together on this.
- The emphasis should be on the recovery of the younger teams, because I'm afraid that when this generation that is playing now and is on the biggest stage leaves, there will be a gap. Both in terms of players and results. We need to consolidate as soon as possible and work together with the younger teams. We need to look for basketball players who will make a career and be players for the national team - said coach Radović in an interview with "Vijesti" at the end of 2023.
Another question that arises is - which foreigner will play at the European Championship? Kendrick Perry said goodbye to the national team in style in November with 31 points against Bulgaria in Botevgrad, and Charlie Moore was supposed to succeed him. Basketball player Breogana injured his knee in December last year, so he did not even make his debut, but in the final round of the qualifiers, John Radebau returned after three years. Coach Radović said at a press conference, before the matches with Germany and Sweden, that the Federation is looking for Perry's replacement.
- We are looking for an adequate solution for Peri. There are a few options, we will see when the "window" ends. We will probably have to find a good solution by the next action, to try to compensate for Peri, who played at a high level, gave serious games. We took Muro, who was injured. There are several options for naturalizing the player, in the position of playmaker, but we will think about that when this "window" ends - explained Radović.
Boško Radović himself has achieved great results in his career, and will lead our team in a major competition for the third time. Radović succeeded Zvezdan Mitrović on the bench in 2019, and led the team at EuroBasket 2022 and WorldBasket 2023, where the team secured qualification for the Olympic Games for the first time. No one has led the national basketball team more than him at major competitions, and his contract expires after EuroBasket XNUMX.
EuroBasket is scheduled to take place from August 27th to September 14th in Latvia, Finland, Poland and Cyprus. It will be the swan song of a great generation.
And the future should be met with readiness.
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