Tomorrow at 17:30, the Montenegrin national basketball team will wrap up another qualification for the European Championship with a match against Sweden in Stockholm.

Boško Radović’s squad is in a good position ahead of the final round. They are nearing qualification for EuroBasket, yet no one is considering scenarios. The team’s focus is solely on winning to complete this qualifying cycle successfully and qualify for the European Championship with flair.

As they approach the final round, Montenegro and Germany are tied at 3-2, while Sweden and Bulgaria are tied at 2-3. The “Reds” can only be eliminated from EuroBasket if they lose to Sweden, all teams finish at 3-3, and our team ends up with the weakest point difference. Currently, Montenegro has a point difference of plus nine, Bulgaria minus 32, and Sweden minus 33.

“Our group has seen many unexpected results, so the final outcome will depend on the last round, and we find ourselves in a good place. We struggled against Germany, particularly on defense. Despite missing a playmaker, we scored 76 points but wasted several shots. Defensively, we underperformed; conceding 95 points to a team like Germany makes achieving a good result impossible. However, that’s behind us—we have a match against Sweden. A victory assures our place in the European Championship; anything else becomes mere calculations. We refuse to dwell on that. We know our task, even if the game takes an unwanted turn. Our sole goal is to win,” stated coach Boško Radović.

In contrast to the match against Germany, Montenegro will be further depleted tomorrow, as they will be without Vladimir Mihailović, Marko Simonović, and Luka Bogavac, who was injured in the match versus the Germans. Bojan Dubljević and Charlie Moore missed this qualifying cycle, and Igor Drobnjak and Marko Todorović were also absent. However, Nikola Ivanovic will return to the squad against Sweden.

“We have a diverse roster for the game against Sweden. Mihailović has been a reliable presence in Podgorica and performed admirably against Germany, but he’s fatigued and dealing with injuries. Marko Simonović remained in Podgorica for family commitments. We are bolstered by the return of Nikola Ivanovic,” the coach explained.

The coach emphasized the need for improved defense.

“We’ve prepared for this game; I expect us to perform better defensively. I believe we can score the points we need. Our defense must be at a significantly higher level than it was in Podgorica,” Radović remarked.

Montenegro claimed victory over Sweden in Podgorica last year with a score of 95:70.

“Although we defeated Sweden in Podgorica, they are not the same team now, and we are not fielding the same lineup as we did in that match. We’re anticipating a challenging and uncertain contest,” the coach added.

Dino Radončić is hopeful the team will show resilience after their loss to Germany.

“We’re up against a team we previously defeated in Podgorica by a large margin, but both teams have evolved since then. We expect a tough match ahead. I hope we will respond well after the defeat against Germany, which wasn’t our finest hour, and that we will demonstrate character,” the basketball forward said.

Radončić also dismisses thoughts of calculations.

“We’re not focused on calculations; we’ll know everything once the game concludes. What’s crucial is that we give our all. We also hope that Germany fields their strongest lineup against Bulgaria and does us a favor,” Radončić concluded.

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