Montenegro's rival's biggest star: We want medal matches at Eurobasket

Seventh place at the last EuroBasket, then 21st at the World Cup, and now one of the hosts of this year's European Championship is dreaming of matches that will decide the medals.

Finland, or rather its city of Tampere, will be one of the four venues where the European Championship will be played from August 27th, hosting a group that also includes Montenegrin basketball players.

The biggest domestic star, Lauri Markanen, believes that this year's championship could also mean Finland's breakthrough in major competitions.

"We are aiming for medal matches. Of course, it is a demanding task, but that is how it should be, in my opinion," the Utah Jazz ace said at the start of preparations, as reported by "Jurohops".

In addition to Montenegro and Finland, the group that will be played in the "Nokia Arena" also includes Germany, Lithuania, Sweden and Great Britain.

"We need to be as unified as possible - every player has to give their best for this team in order to achieve high goals. In the tournament, anything is possible, and we need to be well prepared to avoid any drop in team spirit. I'm sure that won't happen," Markanen added.

The four best teams from the group will advance to the round of 16 - Montenegro opens Eurobasket against Germany, and Finland with a match against their neighbors from Sweden.