Matches against Georgia and Ukraine are approaching: We are in better shape than in July, our rivals know we are a tough team

The Montenegrin national basketball team opens the second round of World Cup qualifications with matches against Georgia in Tbilisi (August 28) and Ukraine in Podgorica (August 31).

Our national team has an excellent first round - Montenegro has advanced to the second phase with a score of 4-2 and is in a good position before the August "window". Like Montenegro, Ukraine is on a score of 4-2, while Georgia, along with Greece and Portugal, is on a score of 3-3. The leader of the group is Spain, which has five wins and one loss. Three teams will qualify for the World Cup, which will be held in Qatar next year.

Zvezdan Mitrović's team has been together since August 10. Montenegro has been training in Podgorica, and according to the center, Zoran Nikolić, the team is in better shape than it was in the previous "window".

"We are training well, we had time to rest, but also to train individually, to prepare for the new cycle. I think we are in better shape now than in the previous 'window'. We know how important these two games are. We are happy that we did well in the first part of the qualifiers. We want to continue in the same rhythm, to try to get the most out of these upcoming games. We will prepare well for the match against Georgia," Nikolić emphasized.

Montenegro will play a friendly match against Slovenia on August 22nd in Celje.

"This game is important to us. We play five-on-five in training, but it's important to play a friendly match to see what kind of condition we're in against another team. The match against Slovenia is not significant in terms of results, but it will be a good test. Slovenia is a good team, so we'll be able to see what level we're at. There's plenty of time until Georgia if anything needs to be corrected," said the Slovan center.

Georgia has the strongest squad, all players responded to the call of the coach, Aleksandar Džikić.

"We know that all the Georgian players are here, that everyone always responds. I think they should be an example to all national teams. We haven't started preparations for them yet, the first seven days we focused on ourselves, to check what condition we are in individually, how we look as a team. Only after Slovenia will we prepare more specifically and talk about them," concluded Nikolić.

Fedor Žugić played a notable role in the July "window".

"We're off to a good start, it's a bit of an awkward period, because it's August, after the break we're getting into a strong pace. We've settled in well, we're working on ourselves, we haven't started scouting and video yet. We're gradually preparing for the game against Georgia," said Žugić.

Coach Mitrović has several players available in this "window".

"We will have more help than in the first 'window', it won't be necessary to play for 30-40 minutes, fatigue will be less, we will be fresher. The more players there are in training, the better for us. It's great that everyone is here, the chemistry is good, we've all known each other for a long time," said Žugić.

After an excellent first cycle, now the opponents will take Montenegro more seriously.

"Our rivals take us seriously, they know we are a tough team. We are coming off a great rhythm from the past 'windows', we are carrying over four wins. Self-confidence and mood are on the level. They will be ready for us, just as we are for them. We respect them, but nothing more than that," concluded Fedor Žugić.