Kovačević and Radonjić: We are ready for a new role

Montenegrin women's basketball team enters the new qualifying cycle with the same ambitions as in previous years – to qualify for the European Championship for the ninth time in a row. The eight consecutive placements so far are almost unprecedented, considering the small pool of players from which the national team members for the senior selection are drawn. After the last EuroBasket, Milica Jovanović, Jovana Pašić and Jelena Vučetić said goodbye to the jersey with the national emblem, so the upcoming matches that await Montenegro, with Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, will at least indicate whether the younger players are ready for the much more serious role that awaits them.

Bojana Kovačević has been in the national team for a long time and has already confirmed many times how important her performances are for the national team - the 29-year-old basketball player for Israeli Hapoel Petah Tikva will now be one of the team's leaders and a role model for players who are starting to build their national team path.

"The expectations are always the same when it comes to the national team, we want to be competitive, we want to be a team and of course, we want to win every game. As for this qualifying cycle, we want to finish in one of the top two places," Bojana Kovačević emphasized.

For Zorana Radonjić, this will be the second qualifying cycle in the senior competition, and the 23-year-old player of Budućnost Bemaks will now certainly have a much greater role and responsibility.

"I am very happy that we are together again. This is a period of generational change and I think that each of us is ready to absorb and listen to what is required of us. We are ready to accept a new role in which we have greater responsibility than in previous years," said Zorana Radonjić.

The national team began gathering on Saturday, and will be complete at Sunday's evening training, when the remaining players from abroad arrive. The match against Ukraine will be played on November 12 at the Bemax Arena in Podgorica, followed by away matches against Azerbaijan (November 15) and Bulgaria (November 18).