The first European Championship in which the Montenegrin national basketball team participated was held in Lithuania in 2011. Two years later, Montenegro played in Slovenia, but then missed the 2015 EuroBasket, which was held in France, Croatia, Latvia and Germany.
After that, our selection became a regular participant in Eurobasket, but also in the WorldBasket, while in the meantime, last year, it also participated in the qualifications for the Olympic Games. Montenegro has a continuous participation in major competitions, and tomorrow (15:30) in the "Nokia Arena" in Tampere, Finland, it will start its appearance at another European Championship against Germany - the third in a row, and the fifth in history. In the last two continental championships, Montenegro reached the round of XNUMX, and a place in the knockout phase this summer would be a great success.
So, Montenegro opens its appearance at the championship tomorrow against the world champion - Germany. The group also includes Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Great Britain. On Friday (15:30) there is a duel against Lithuania, and on Saturday against the host Finland (19:30). The match against Sweden is scheduled for September 12 (30:12), and two days later the match against Great Britain (30:XNUMX). Four selections from the group advance to the knockout phase, which is held in the capital of Latvia - Riga.
Germany and Sweden were our team's rivals in the European Championship qualifiers as well. Germany won both times (85:61 at home, 95:76 in Podgorica), while against Sweden the performance was half-hearted - Montenegro won in Podgorica (95:70), and was defeated in Stockholm (86:83). Bulgaria was also in the qualifying group D, which Boško Radović's team defeated both times - in Podgorica 85:62, and in Botevgrad 90:86.
Coach Boško Radović could not count on the strongest squad for the upcoming championship. Bojan Dubljević, Nikola Ivanović, Petar Popović, Nemanja Radović, Dino Radončić, Luka Bogavac, David Mirković, Andrija Grbović and Fedor Žugić will not be present at the championship, while Jovan Kljajić was injured before the start of the championship.
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And the team leader, NBA ace and the biggest star of the national team - Nikola Vučević (Chicago), will play in the championship, who said in an interview for "Vijesti" in mid-July that the matches at Eurobasket are probably his last for the national team.
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In addition to Vučević, Montenegro will be represented by: 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) and Zoran Nikolić (without a club).
The European Championship will be the first major competition for Olmen, Živanović, Hadžibegović, Tomašević and Jovanović.
Coach Boško Radović will lead Montenegro in a major competition for the third time. Radović has been the coach since 2019, when he succeeded Zvezdan Mitrović, and led the team at the previous EuroBasket and WorldBasket.
The team played five games during the preparation period - recording two wins and three losses. Montenegro defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina (102:90) and Israel (88:76), and lost to France (81:75), Greece (69:61) and Turkey (96:85).
The European Championship is scheduled from August 27 to September 14 in Latvia, Finland, Poland and Cyprus.
RASPORED - 27. AUGUST
Montenegro – Germany (15:30)
AUGUST 29
Lithuania - Montenegro (15:30)
AUGUST 30
Montenegro – Finland (19:30)
SEPTEMBER 1
Sweden - Montenegro (12:30)
SEPTEMBER 3
Montenegro - Great Britain (12:30)
Bonus video:
