With training in the “Bemax Arena”, the basketball team of Montenegro will start preparations for matches with Bulgaria in the Eurobasket qualifiers tonight.
The first match against the Bulgarians is scheduled for Friday (19) in “Bemax Arena”, and the duel in Botevgrad is next Monday (18). Montenegro and Bulgaria enter the November cycle with a score of 1-1, just like the other teams from the group – Germany and Sweden.
Placement to the European Championship will be ensured by three selections from the group, and our national team is seeking participation in the fifth continental championship, since it did not participate only in the championship held in 2015 in Croatia, Germany, France and Latvia.
Also, Montenegro was a participant in Mundobasket twice in a row, in the previous one it won the historic 11th place, so the eventual placement in Eurobasket would maintain the continuity of participation in major competitions.
“An important ‘window’ like any other, but this one. Germany is the absolute favorite to go through, and then there are three teams left – Bulgaria, Sweden and us to fight for the remaining two places. In the first training session, he will be part of the team, while tomorrow we should be complete,” said the coach of the Montenegrin national basketball team, Boško Radović, at today’s conference.
In February, Montenegro lost to Germany and defeated Sweden, while the Bulgarians have the opposite situation – they beat the current world champions, the Germans, and lost to the Swedes.
“Bulgaria has shown that it can surprise even a serious national team such as Germany. We enter these two games with respect and focus. There are few games where you can say that someone is the absolute favorite, that should be a huge difference in quality. Bulgarians they have a more than correct squad, we will have to work seriously in order to get into a situation to try to win,” explained Radović.
Saša Vezenkov (Olympiacos) and Cody Miller-McIntyre (Red Star) are on the list of Bulgarians. They will certainly not play on Friday, and the question is whether the Olympiakos basketball player will play on Monday as well, since he was injured last night in the game against PAOK in the Greek championship.
“I don’t know what their plans are. We will prepare as if both are there. We will be ready whether they play or not. We must not underestimate the other players, because they also showed against Germany that they have a certain quality,” he said. is Radovic.
NO POPOVICA IN THIS CYCLE
Petar Popović will miss the upcoming matches. The selector also explained why there will be no FMP basketball players.
“Of the more experienced ones, who have been there for years, there is no Petr Popović. He was without a club until two weeks ago. We came to the common conclusion that it is better for him to spend this break at the club and get in shape there. Better for him and for the club , and then the national team in February will have a player who is in the rhythm of the games,” said Radović.
I WORK WITH AN EXCEPTIONAL GROUP OF GUYS
There are Bojan Dubljević and Nikola Ivanović, who missed the February “window”, and were not even at the qualification tournament in Riga. The list includes Vladimir Mihailović, Zoran Nikolić, Nemanja Radović and Marko Todorović, who also missed the tournament in Riga.
“We haven’t been in this team for a long time, which has been carrying our basketball for some six or seven years. I am happy that I worked with an exceptional group of guys these years. These are all guys who did their job in the best way. There are seven or eight players on the roster, who were at the European and world championships, and I am very grateful to them. I am happy and satisfied that they are still there, in this crucial moment, such as the matches with Bulgaria,” said Radović.
What is great before the matches with the Bulgarians is the fact that our national team players are playing well in the clubs.
“We have players who have significant roles, who have been playing well since the beginning of the season. We had situations where we had players without clubs or players who did not get minutes, so we brought them through the national team. I have been working with a great group for five years and I am very satisfied with that. I hope that this time we will show that we are a serious team,” said Radović.
He is also looking forward to the return of Marko Todorović, who signed for Murcia in December 2023, and then played brilliantly in the second part of the previous season. Unfortunately, he was injured in the finish, so he did not play in the Olympic qualification tournament in Riga.
“Marko was supposed to be with us this summer, but he was injured. And then he said that he had the desire and will to play for the national team. An experienced player and an important name for our basketball.”
The selector said at the conference that Kendrick Perry will play his last matches for the national team against Bulgaria, and that Charlie Moore will succeed him.
Radović also referred to the status of Danilo Nikolić, who is playing well this season in Spartak Subotica.
“Danil Nikolić has not been in the national team for a long time. There was an attempt three years ago, I had a conversation with him then. We did not meet in all that. He has been gone since then. There is no anger – we parted amicably. My views and his were not the same.” , explained the selector.
WE WILL NEED THE SUPPORT OF THE FANS
The basketball players played their last home match against Sweden in February.
“We haven’t played in Montenegro since February. I think the audience wanted a national team. It’s a shame that it won’t be ‘Morači’, because the capacity is bigger, I guess there would be five or six thousand people. I expect the fans to come, to support us. They will need support from every fan. I think the ‘Bemax Arena’ will be filled to capacity, and it’s up to us to do this second part of the job,” said coach Boško Radović.
I LIKE PODGORICA
At the beginning of this season, Radović accepted the offer from Podgorica and became the coach of the team from the capital of Montenegro, where he succeeded Dragan Radović on the bench.
“I accepted Podgorica’s offer to work and I’m happy. The coach needs to be on the field every day. We’re doing a pretty good job, so I’m happy with where I’m at,” concluded the coach.
LIST FOR MATCHES WITH BULGARIA
Nikola Ivanovic (Breša)
Kendrik Peri (Unikaha)
Igor Drobnjak (SC Derbi)
Luka Bogavac (SC Derby)
Vladimir Mihailović (Zadar)
Đorđije Jovanović (Budućnost Voli)
Dino Radončić (Betis)
Andrija Slavković (Budućnost Voli)
Aleksa Ilić (Budućnost Voli)
Nemanja Radović (Murcia)
Marko Simonović (Bahceşehir)
Bojan Dubljević (Zaragosa)
Marko Todorović (Murcia)
Zoran Nikolić (SC Derbi)
News
Source: www.vijesti.me
