Montenegro will face Germany, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Great Britain in the upcoming EuroBasket.

The matches will be held at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland, which has a capacity of approximately 13,500 seats. Besides sporting events, the versatile venue also hosts concerts, increasing its capacity to 15,000 for such occasions.

Following the draw, it was determined that Boško Radović’s team will kick off the tournament on August 27 with a game against the reigning world champions, Germany. Two days later, they will go up against Lithuania, followed by a match with Finland on August 30, then Sweden on September 1, and Great Britain on September 3. Four teams from each group will progress to the Round of 16, where they will face teams from Group A, featuring Serbia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Estonia, and Portugal. All knockout round matches will take place in Latvia’s capital, Riga.

Since gaining independence, Montenegro has encountered each opponent in their group and was previously in the qualifying group with Germany and Sweden for this continental tournament.

Montenegro and Germany have faced off five times, with Germany securing victory in both of the recent qualifiers (85:61 and 95:76) and previously winning 85:79 at the last EuroBasket.

In the last qualifying stage for EuroBasket, Germany was a rival to Boško Radović’s team, where Montenegro triumphed twice – first 80:74 at a neutral venue in France and then 82:75 in Podgorica.

Montenegro has faced Lithuania four times but has yet to win. Their initial clash occurred at EuroBasket in Slovenia in 2013, where the Baltic team emerged victorious, 77:70.

Lithuania defeated Montenegro twice in the qualifiers for the previous World Championship (90:73 and 65:56) and prevailed at the World Basketball Championship with a score of 91:71.

Notably, Lithuania will compete in the upcoming European Championship without their NBA star, Domantas Sabonis.

The third group rival is host nation Finland. Montenegro has played three matches against Finland, winning twice during the EuroBasket 2011 qualifiers (74:60 and 91:71), though the Finnish team won in the championship, finishing the group with a 71:65 victory.

Another Scandinavian opponent is Sweden. Montenegro and Sweden have met four times, with Montenegro winning three of those encounters – twice in the B division in 2009 (70:50 and 88:71), and again in the last qualifying cycle in Podgorica, winning 95:70. Sweden managed their only victory in the recent EuroBasket qualifiers, winning in overtime in Stockholm, 86:83.

Montenegro’s performance against Great Britain has been average in their two previous matches, both of which were qualifiers for the last EuroBasket. The British secured a win on neutral ground in France (74:59), while Montenegro won in Podgorica (81:74). Montenegro finished behind Great Britain in their qualifying group, which helped the Britons qualify for the championship. However, in May 2022, following the war in Ukraine and resulting sanctions, the FIBA Europe Competition Committee expelled Russia from the European Championship, allowing Montenegro – having had the best qualifying performance – to take the vacant spot despite not originally qualifying.

Eurobasket is slated to take place from August 27 to September 14.

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