Since the European Championship in Poland in 2011, when it first participated in EuroBasket, the Montenegrin women's basketball team has become an indispensable part of the European elite. The streak that began 14 years ago, when it won sixth place, has not been interrupted, so our selection will play in the continental competition for the eighth time in a row this summer.
The European Championships are scheduled from June 18th to 29th in Greece, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy, and Jelena Škerović's team began preparations today for the upcoming continental competition, where they will be weakened, as Dragana Živković canceled her performance for personal reasons.
Montenegro will play EuroBasket matches in Brno, and its rivals are the host Czech Republic, current European champion Belgium and Portugal. Two teams from the group advance to the quarterfinals, and they will face a group that includes Spain, Germany, Great Britain and Sweden. The knockout phase will be played in Greece.
"We have a strong group. The favorite of the group is Belgium, there is also the Czech Republic, and Portugal is also in the group, which has a very strong physical team, which plays extremely aggressively. We will look for our chance to win in order to advance, which is the main goal. It will not be easy, but I believe that we will prepare as best we can during the preparation period and that we will be ready for the European Championship," Škerović emphasized at today's press conference.
Montenegro will prepare in Bar. Our selection will have its first tests on May 20 and 21 against Serbia on Zlatibor, then from May 26 to 31 they will participate in the Games of Small Countries of Europe (IMZE) in Andorra, and on June 11 they will play Slovenia. Two days later, Montenegro will have its last test before Eurobasket in Bologna, against Italy.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us. As for preparations - we have a sufficient number of control matches to prepare for what awaits us. We also have the IMZE, where we will have the opportunity to try out younger players, to see how they can carry the load at the European Championship. In January, we had to submit the list for the IMZE. The younger players, who were with us in November and February, will have more playing time in Andorra, if they deserve it through training. They will also gain some experience. Through the games at the IMZE, the priority is for the younger basketball players to play, to see how they can react, to gain experience. The main players will also have their minutes in Andorra, but priority will be given to basketball players who have less playing time in the national team," explained the coach.
Nataša Mek will join the team only two weeks before the start of the championship.
"We have personnel problems. American Mack is in the WNBA and will only arrive two weeks before EuroBasket, Lana Vukčević is in college in America, she is not there either, so the only center is Maja Bigović. The other girls are here. We have a couple of new players, who we will follow through the preparation period and see how they have progressed in these two years," said the coach.
Montenegro failed to advance to the second stage in 2017 alone. When asked if it would be a failure if our national team did not make it past the group stage, the coach said:
"I don't think so, because the story has been going on for four years about a generational change. Some of the new players who are coming in don't have experience, but I think we will fit in well together. After Mexico, where we played without the Americans, where the younger players gained some new experience, and November and February, this is now the icing on the cake, so that in three or four years they might get the strawberry on top," the former playmaker, now the national team coach of Montenegro, vividly described.
The EuroBasket for women's basketball is unimaginable without Montenegro. With a small player base, just qualifying for the continental competition is a great success.
"We have maybe 20 senior players, if you can call it that, because there are four players on our roster who are from the U20 and two from the U18 national team. So, with a small pool of players, qualifying for the European Championship eight times in a row is a phenomenal result. All the national teams at Eurobasket have teams that play in the Euroleague or Eurocup, and we are the only country that has not had a team that is in the Euroleague or Eurocup for many years. Due to experience, I think that is a big handicap for our players, but through the younger national team selections and now in the senior national team, they have the opportunity to feel that experience," concluded Škerović.
The list includes: Milica Jovanović, Bojana Kovačević, Jovana Pašić, Marija Leković, Sofija Živaljević, Maja Bigović, Zorana Radonjić, Milena Bigović, Nikolina Ilic, Jelena Bulajić, Jovana Savković, Atina Radevic, Jelena Vučetić, Nataša Mek, Andrea Glomazić and Marija Baošić.
Bonus video:
