Radović: We won more than we lost in Istanbul, we played against a European superpower

The test matches are over, just a few more days and the real thing will begin, what everyone who loves basketball has been waiting for all year.

Montenegro will begin its fifth appearance at the European Championships since regaining independence on Wednesday with a match against world champions Germany.

Boško Radović's men played five warm-up matches, defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina (102:90) and Israel (88:76), and losing to the giants of France (81:75), Greece (69:61) and last night to Turkey in Istanbul (96:85).

"The last check was good, again about thirty good minutes and especially the first half - very good offensively, and defensively we could have done better. In the third quarter we had five or six minutes of idle time, where Turkey made the difference. I never talk about the referees, but this time I have to say that the host was greatly helped by a series of decisions," said Radović.

However, he turned to the positives from the match in Turkey's largest city.

"We are not satisfied with the defeat, but overall we are satisfied with the game. We played against a European powerhouse that is covered in every position by Euroleague and NBA players, so we have nothing to regret," added the Montenegro coach.

Montenegro will appear at EuroBasket weakened, but it will also be a great chance for five debutants - Kyle Olmen, Djordje Jovanovic, Balsa Zivanovic, Emir Hadzibegovic and Bojan Tomašević.

"I say, it was another good test, we had exceptionally good minutes in the game. Apart from a few players, this is a young team, we have a lot of debutants and for them it is a great experience to play against such a team in Istanbul. We gained more than we lost in this match."

Wednesday, "Nokia Arena" in Tampere and the world champion from 15.30:XNUMX PM - it could hardly have been harder at the start.

"We still have a few days of training and video analysis left to prepare for the match with the world champion and to be absolutely prepared for what awaits us in Tampere," concluded Radović.

In addition to Tampere, EuroBasket will also be played in Riga, Katowice and Limassol, and along with Montenegro and Germany, the group also includes home team Finland, Lithuania, Sweden and Great Britain.

The host of the entire knockout phase will be the capital of Latvia, and the top four teams from each group will advance to the round of 16.