When five world champions occupy the starting lineup on one end of the court, and a diminished Montenegro faces them on the other, pulling off a miracle becomes a tall order, even with a packed “Morača” behind you.

The Montenegrin basketball team, except for a few moments in the first half, posed little threat to Germany, who comfortably claimed victory in the biggest Montenegrin arena with a score of 95:76. When Germany fields such a formidable lineup — unlike in some of their previous qualifying matches — they prove to be overwhelmingly strong.

“Germany should have been the clear favorite in this group. Had they defeated Bulgaria and Sweden as expected, we might have already secured a spot in the Eurobasket. However, we know it’s not over yet,” remarked coach Bosko Radovic at the press conference.

Despite the convincing loss, there’s no reason for dissatisfaction. Why? A spot in the Eurobasket still seems achievable for Radović’s squad, who holds a 3-2 record, the same as Germany, while Bulgaria and Sweden stand at 2-3 after an astonishing performance from Sasha Vezenkov that secured victory for the Balkan team.

Following the defeat against Germany, our national team maintains a better point differential (plus nine) compared to Sweden (minus 33) and Bulgaria (minus 32). Therefore, if Montenegro falls in Stockholm, and Vezenkov and his team pull off an upset in Bamberg, leading all three teams to a 3-3 tie, only an extraordinarily lopsided loss against Sweden would eliminate our selection.

A trip to Latvia, Poland, Finland, and Cyprus is within reach, but Radović’s team must conclude the qualifiers by mirroring their earlier style of play.

“Germany played both matches against us with a serious lineup, and frankly, we’re not accustomed to settling things before the final match, shot, or rebound,” Radović admits.

A fruitless chase from the outset

From the first referee’s decision, Montenegro was in pursuit of their rivals. The sense was that each time Boško Radović’s squad found a rhythm, a three-pointer would disrupt it, courtesy of players like Nelson Vajdeman, Isaac Bonga, or Andreas Obst. Furthermore, defensive lapses and bad luck in offense hampered their efforts.

“Honestly, I expected us to perform better defensively. I can’t recall the last time someone scored 95 points against us. I knew we were somewhat limited in attack due to the absence of all our playmakers, but I believed we could defend better,” stressed the Montenegrin coach.

The team, led by Aleksa Mumbrua, started strong at 12:3 and led 30:19. However, an energized response from Petar Popović (who scored five points) and Marko Simonović (with a dunk) narrowed the gap to 31:26.

Yet Bonga and David Kramer quickly restored a double-digit lead, leaving the world champions ahead by 12 points at halftime, with a score of 50:38.

Everything settled at the start of the second half

Germany kicked off the third quarter with a three-pointer from Johannes Feugtmann and Obst, followed by two free throws and a basket from Johannes Timan. Within just two and a half minutes, the world champions surged to a 20-point lead (58:38), effectively sealing the game in Podgorica.

“The play during that period was not reflective of us at all,” Radović acknowledges.

After that point, our team’s performance fell apart, with only Simonović showing any rhythm, while Germany prevented Montenegro from decreasing their lead below 20 points.

The fact that the loss to Germany will soon be forgotten and that fans appreciate the team’s efforts thus far is exemplified by the moment at the game’s conclusion when Djordje Jovanovic sank a three-pointer (his third consecutive) to reduce the lead to 19 points, prompting the entire arena to celebrate as if it were a victory.

A Eurobasket qualification awaits in Northern Europe, and our national team deserves to seize it.

“Now we need to focus on Sweden. We have invested a lot to reach the European Championship,” concluded Radović.

Decision day is set for Sunday — Montenegro will face Sweden at 17:30 PM.

Bogavac suffers a nose injury; Ivanovic set to play in Stockholm

Montenegro entered the match against Germany without the injured Bojan Dubljević, Čarlij Mur, and Igor Drobnjak. Nikola Ivanović and Marko Todorović also missed the match, and Luka Bogavac sustained an injury in the second half.

The young SC Derby player suffered a broken nose, putting his availability for Sunday’s match against Sweden in question.

MONTENEGRO – GERMANY 76:95 (17:26, 21:24, 13:25, 25:20)

Podgorica – “M:tel Morača Hall”. Attendance: 5,500. Referees: Rosso (France), Baki (Turkey), Jakobs (Belgium).

Montenegro: MIHAILOVIC 18 (7-6), HADŽIBEGOVIC, Slavkovic 2, RADONCIC 4 (2-1), Simonovic 22 (5-5), Radovic 7 (2-1), RADEBAU 4 (2-2), Jovanovic 9, NIKOLIC 1 (4-1), Popovic 5, Bogavac 4, Mirkovic.

Germany: BONGA 13 (2-1), Šnajder 6, FOJGTMAN 8, Vajdeman 10, Matisek 2, Olinde 5 (4-3), Delov 1 (2-1), HOLAC 4 (2-2), Plajs 14 (5-4), TIMAN 16 (6-4), OBST 9, Kremer 7 (3-2).

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