The names of the 12 basketball players who will represent Montenegro at EuroBasket are known.
Coach Boško Radović announced the final list, so it is clear that five players will appear in our national team jersey for the first time at major competitions.
Along with the newly naturalized American Kyle Olman, they are Đorđije Jovanović, Balša Živanović, Emir Hadžibegović and Bojan Tomašević.
Jovan Kljajić, a basketball player from Gran Canaria who had notable minutes during the preparations, is not traveling due to injury. Živanović stepped in to replace him.
"Kljajić was injured during the match with Israel and examinations showed that he needs to rest for about three or four weeks," the Basketball Association of Montenegro announced.
During the preparations, Vladimir Mihailović had injury problems, but the Zadar defender is expected to miss only the first match of the tournament against Germany.
Filip Andjušić is also missing from the previous list.
Even before the preparations began, it was clear that Montenegro would travel to the fifth EuroBasket weakened since the restoration of independence - without Bojan Dubljević, Nikola Ivanović, Petar Popović, Nemanja Radović, Dino Radončić, as well as the guys who are going to the NCAA Luka Bogavac, David Mirković and Andrija Grbović.
Vučević: These 12 guys deserve to be here, I feel sorry for Kljajić
The final list for EuroBasket includes: Kyle Olmen (Turk Telekom), Igor Drobnjak (Spartak), Vladimir Mihailović (Zadar), Balša Živanović (SC Derbi), Zoran Vučeljić (SC Derbi), Đorđije Jovanović (Buducnost Voli), Andrija Slavković (Buducnost Voli), Emir Hadžibegović (SC Derbi), Bojan Tomašević (without a club), Marko Simonović (Turk Telekom), Zoran Nikolić (without a club) and Nikola Vučević (Chicago).
"These 12 guys who are going to the European Championship deserve to be here - we're going to Finland to see what we can do," said Vučević, our NBA ace.
The Bulls center regrets that Kljajić will not be traveling to the Eurobasket.
"Unfortunately, he dropped out at the last minute - I'm really sorry, because he worked hard during the preparations, played better and better and I'm sure he would have had an important role in the team, just as a performance at a major competition would be of great benefit to his further development. Unfortunately, injuries are an integral part of sport. At this moment, the most important thing is for him to recover," Vučević emphasized.
The last test against Turkey
Montenegro will play its last test match tomorrow (Saturday) at 19 p.m. against Turkey in Istanbul, while they will open EuroBasket on Wednesday with a match against the world champions.
"Oscillations are normal for friendly matches, and our rivals were not in their strongest squad, they were not in optimal form, just like we were not. However, we showed that we can play with anyone when we have the right focus and energy. In Finland it will be much more difficult and different, we will have to play even better," added Vučević.
The group that will be played in Tampere also includes hosts Finland, Lithuania, Sweden and Great Britain - the knockout phase, which will be played in its entirety in Riga, will be secured by the four best teams.
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