Montenegro men's national basketball team

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Montenegro
Montenegro Basketball logo.png
FIBA ranking26 Steady (9 August 2021)[1]
Joined FIBA2006
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationBasketball Federation of Montenegro (KSCG)
CoachBoško Radović
Nickname(s)Hrabri sokoli / Храбри соколи
(The Brave Falcons)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances1
MedalsNone
EuroBasket
Appearances3
MedalsNone
Games of the Small States of Europe
Appearances3
MedalsGold Gold: (2015, 2019)
Silver Silver: (2017)
Kit body thinyellowsides.png
First jersey
Kit shorts yellowsides.png
Team colours
First
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Second jersey
Kit shorts redsides.png
Team colours
Second
First international
 Netherlands 63–70 Montenegro 
(Almere, Netherlands; 6 September 2008)
Biggest win
 San Marino 37–100 Montenegro 
(Serravalle, San Marino; 2 June 2017)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 99–60 Montenegro 
(Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 1 September 2017)

The Montenegro men's national basketball team (Montenegrin: Кошаркашка репрезентација Црне Горе, romanizedKošarkaška reprezentacija Crne Gore) represents Montenegro in international basketball tournaments. The supervising body is the Basketball Federation of Montenegro.

Montenegro joined FIBA in 2006, following the restoration of Montenegrin independence in the same year. Since 2006, the national team has qualified for EuroBasket on three occasions (2011, 2013, 2017). Montenegro also qualified for their first appearance to the FIBA World Cup in 2019. The team also takes part in smaller tournaments such as the Games of the Small States of Europe.

History[]

2006–2014[]

Nikola Peković with Montenegro national team in 2010

In 2006, the Basketball Federation of Montenegro along with this team joined the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on its own following the Independence of Montenegro.

The Montenegrin national team entered international competition in 2008,[2] and appointed Duško Vujošević as the national coach. Montenegro started from FIBA Division B, where they won first place in their first competitive season. Since becoming a separate team, Montenegro has won 13 official games in a row, until losing to Israel in August 2010.

At that time, NBA players like Nikola Vučević and Nikola Peković became the most known players of Montenegrin national team.

In their first qualifiers for EuroBasket, Montenegro finished first in the group. So, the team qualified for Eurobasket 2011, where they played five games in the first phase - with one win and four losses. The Coach of Montenegro at their first-ever EuroBasket was Dejan Radonjić.

In August 2012, with the new coach Luka Pavićević, Montenegro started qualifiers for Eurobasket 2013. Again, they won first place, but without any defeat from 10 matches. Notable matches were against Serbia, first after the two countries separated. Montenegro won both games, and victory in Belgrade (73:71), in front of 18,000 spectators, is gained by Nikola Ivanović three-point shot from the center, one second before the end of the match.[3][4]

As the first-place team in qualifiers, Montenegro participated at Eurobasket 2013 in Slovenia. They made better results than 2011, with two wins and three defeats, but that was not enough for the second phase of EuroBasket.

First unsuccessful qualifying campaign since independence, Montenegro had during the 2014. Surprisingly, group stage at the EuroBasket 2015 qualification, Montenegro finished third, so they failed to qualify for the final tournament.

2015–present[]

Nikola Vučević

In 2015, Montenegro named Bogdan Tanjević new head coach of the national team. Prior to taking the reigns of the national team, he was the head coach of Fenerbahçe. As the national team earlier failed to qualify for EuroBasket 2015, they participated in the Games of the Small States of Europe (European countries with less than a million citizens) in Iceland and easily won the gold medal.

In summer 2016, Montenegro started competition in EuroBasket 2017 qualifiers, with the only ambition to qualify for their third final tournament since independence. In a group with Georgia, Slovakia and Albania, Montenegro finished as a second-place team, with one defeat, and qualified for EuroBasket 2017.

For the first time in their history, in Eurobasket 2017, Montenegro finished as a third-place team in the group stage and qualified to the knockout stage. At that time, that was the biggest success of the Montenegrin national team since its independence in 2006. Two years later, Montenegro qualified for the 2019 FIBA World Cup for the first time, after a winner-take-all game in Podgorica against Latvia. Montenegro lost the game 80-74 but still went through as they had won the away game 84–75, thus holding the tiebreaker on points difference. With that result, Montenegro became the smallest state by population and territory to qualify for the FIBA World Cup since the establishing of competition.

Competitive record[]

Montenegro made their first appearance at the FIBA World Cup in 2019. The national team has also appeared three times at the EuroBasket (2011, 2013, 2017). Among the other competitions, as a country with less than a million inhabitants, Montenegro participated at the Games of the Small States of Europe winning the gold medal in 2015 and 2019.

Results and fixtures[]

  Win   Loss

2020[]

21 February 2020
EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers
Montenegro  81–74
0
 Great Britain Podgorica, Montenegro
0
19:00 Scoring by quarter: 24–14, 18–24, 20–10, 18–15
Pts: Cobbs 19
Rebs: Todorović 7
Asts: Cobbs 8
Boxscore Pts: Hesson 20
Rebs: Soko 9
Asts: Okereafor 6
Arena: Morača Sports Center
Referees: Georgios Poursanidis (GRE), Vilius Mačiulaitis (LTU), Gatis Saliņš (LAT)
24 February 2020
EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers
France  85–66
0
 Montenegro La Roche-sur-Yon, France
0
18:45 Scoring by quarter: 18–12, 22–26, 20–16, 25–12
Pts: Yabusele 15
Rebs: Fall 6
Asts: Julien 7
Boxscore Pts: Ivanović 24
Rebs: Simonović, Todorović 7
Asts: Popović 3
Arena:
Referees: Marius Ciulin (ROU), Tomas Jasevičius (LTU), Ventsislav Velikov (BUL)
27 November 2020
EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers
Germany  74–80
0
 Montenegro Pau, France* [note 1]
0
21:00 Scoring by quarter: 24–18, 15–20, 16–21, 19–21
Pts: Benzing 21
Rebs: Obst 5
Asts: Obst 4
Boxscore Pts: Cobbs 20
Rebs: Nikolić 8
Asts: Cobbs 6
Arena: Palais des Sports de Pau
Referees: Manuel Mazzoni (ITA), Luis Castillo (ESP), Gatis Saliņš (LAT)
29 November 2020
EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers
Great Britain  74–59
0
 Montenegro Pau, France* [note 1]
0
18:00 Scoring by quarter: 28–19, 12–18, 15–9, 19–13
Pts: Olaseni 28
Rebs: Olaseni 8
Asts: Nelson 6
Boxscore Pts: Simonović 14
Rebs: Simonović 8
Asts: Cobbs, Ivanović 4
Arena: Palais des Sports de Pau
Referees: Manuel Mazzoni (ITA), Luis Castillo (ESP), Mehmet Karabilecen (TUR)

2021[]

20 February 2021
EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers
Montenegro  71–73
0
 France Podgorica, Montenegro*[note 1]
0
20:45 Scoring by quarter: 17–13, 20–18, 16–19, 18–23
Pts: Popović 17
Rebs: Simonović 7
Asts: Ivanović 4
Boxscore Pts: Heurtel 16
Rebs: , M'Baye 7
Asts: Albicy, Heurtel 4
Arena:
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Fernando Calatrava (ESP), Martin Horozov (BUL)
22 February 2021
EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers
Montenegro  82–75
0
 Germany Podgorica, Montenegro*[note 1]
0
20:00 Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 21–10, 17–22, 20–21
Pts: Ivanović 26
Rebs: Radončić 9
Asts: Ivanović 8
Boxscore Pts: Akpınar 19
Rebs: Ogbe 9
Asts: Akpınar 3
Arena:
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Martin Horozov (BUL), Wojciech Liszka (POL)
12 August 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round
Montenegro  83–69
0
 Iceland Podgorica, Montenegro* [note 2]
0
20:00 CEST (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 16–8, 23–25, 21–20, 23–16
Pts: Ivanović, Todorović 18
Rebs: Barović 7
Asts: Cobbs 4
Boxscore Pts: Friðriksson 16
Rebs: Nathanaelsson 6
Asts: Friðriksson, Steinarsson 4
Arena:
Referees: Marius Ciulin (ROU), Zafer Yılmaz (TUR), Gintaras Vitkauskas (LTU)
14 August 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round
Denmark  68–79
0
 Montenegro Podgorica, Montenegro* [note 2]
0
20:00 CEST (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 13–25, 22–21, 20–12, 13–21
Pts: 15
Rebs: 8
Asts: 6
Boxscore Pts: Ivanović 18
Rebs: Barović 6
Asts: Popović 4
Arena:
Referees: Georgios Poursanidis (GRE), Zafer Yilmaz (TUR), Ivor Matějek (CZE)
16 August 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round
Iceland  80–82
0
 Montenegro Podgorica, Montenegro* [note 2]
0
20:00 CEST (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 25–27, 21–14, 25–20, 9–21
Pts: Hlinason 21
Rebs: Hlinason 10
Asts: Vilhjálmsson 6
Boxscore Pts: Radončić 19
Rebs: Radončić 7
Asts: Ivanović 5
Arena:
Referees: Marius Ciulin (ROU), Georgios Poursanidis (GRE), Gintaras Vitkauskas (LTU)
18 August 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round
Montenegro  79–67
0
 Denmark Podgorica, Montenegro* [note 2]
0
20:00 CEST (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 26–12, 13–15, 18–17, 22–23
Pts: Drobnjak 15
Rebs: Radončić 9
Asts: Popović 3
Boxscore Pts: 16
Rebs: 9
Asts: 3
Arena:
Referees: Georgios Poursanidis (GRE), Gintaras Vitkauskas (LTU), Valentin Oliot (FRA)

Team[]

Current roster[]

Roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Pre-Qualifiers matches on 12 to 17 August 2021 against Iceland and Denmark.[7]

Montenegro men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
PG 1 Justin Cobbs 30 – (1991-03-16)16 March 1991 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Budućnost Montenegro
PG 4 Igor Drobnjak 21 – (2000-04-21)21 April 2000 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Budućnost Montenegro
G/F 5 Aleksa Popović 34 – (1987-07-31)31 July 1987 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Lovćen Montenegro
F 8 Dino Radončić 22 – (1999-01-08)8 January 1999 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Zaragoza Spain
G 9 Mašan Vrbica 27 – (1994-06-14)14 June 1994 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Lovćen Montenegro
F 10 Nemanja Đurišić 29 – (1992-02-23)23 February 1992 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Estudiantes Spain
C 11 Marko Todorović 29 – (1992-04-19)19 April 1992 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) Tianjin Pioneers China
G 12 19 – (2001-09-11)11 September 2001 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Gran Canaria Spain
F/C 13 Vasilije Baćović 25 – (1996-05-11)11 May 1996 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Studentski Montenegro
PF 14 Radosav Spasojević 29 – (1992-02-28)28 February 1992 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Sutjeska Montenegro
C 15 Filip Barović 31 – (1990-07-29)29 July 1990 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) Budućnost Montenegro
PG 20 Nikola Ivanović 27 – (1994-02-19)19 February 1994 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Crvena zvezda Serbia
F/C 23 Milija Miković 27 – (1994-03-25)25 March 1994 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Mornar Montenegro
G 30 Petar Popović 24 – (1996-09-13)13 September 1996 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Budućnost Montenegro
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 12 August 2021

Depth chart[]

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C Nikola Vučević Bojan Dubljević Marko Simonović Zoran Nikolić
PF Marko Todorović Danilo Nikolić Nemanja Radović Milko Bjelica
SF Dino Radončić Suad Šehović Nemanja Đurišić Marko Kljajević
SG Petar Popović Nemanja Vranješ Fedor Žugić
PG Justin Cobbs Nikola Ivanović Igor Drobnjak Mašan Vrbica

Head coaches[]

Since independence, all head coaches were Montenegrin-born. The first head coach of Montenegro was Duško Vujošević. With him, Montenegro won the FIBA B division championship (2009). From 2010 to 2012, Montenegro was coached by Dejan Radonjić, who led the national team to their first EuroBasket (2011). At their next Eurobasket participation (2013), Montenegro was led by Luka Pavićević. From 2015 to 2017, the head coach of Montenegro was Bogdan Tanjević, who led Montenegro to their first-ever Second phase games at the Eurobasket (2016). After that tournament, the Basketball Federation of Montenegro named Zvezdan Mitrović new head coach of the national team. During his mandate, Montenegro for the first time qualified for the World Cup (2019), as the smallest state to ever play at the global tournament.

Years Name Record Competitions
2007–2010 Montenegro Duško Vujošević 10–0 None
2010–2012 Montenegro Dejan Radonjić 7–6 EuroBasket 2011 (21st)
2012–2014 Montenegro Luka Pavićević 15–6 EuroBasket 2013 (17th)
2015–2017 Montenegro Bogdan Tanjević 15–5 GSS 2015 (1st); EuroBasket 2017 (13th); GSS 2017 (2nd)
2017–2019 Montenegro Zvezdan Mitrović 12–9 GSS 2019 (1st); World Cup 2019 (25th)
2019–present Montenegro Boško Radović 7–3 None

Notable former players[]

Past rosters[]

2011 EuroBasket: finished 21st among 24 teams

4 Nikola Vučević, 5 Goran Jeretin, 6 Boris Bakić, 7 Vlado Šćepanović, 8 Miloš Borisov, 9 Vladimir Mihailović, 10 Omar Cook, 11 Slavko Vraneš, 12 Milko Bjelica, 13 Vladimir Dragičević, 14 Nikola Peković, 15 Vladimir Dašić (Coach: Montenegro Dejan Radonjić)


2013 EuroBasket: finished 17th among 24 teams

4 Nikola Vučević, 5 Bojan Bakić, 6 Suad Šehović, 7 Aleksa Popović, 8 Sead Šehović, 9 Blagota Sekulić, 10 Nikola Ivanović, 11 Milko Bjelica, 12 Tyrese Rice, 13 Marko Popović, 14 Bojan Dubljević, 15 Vladimir Dašić (Coach: Montenegro Luka Pavićević)


2017 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 24 teams

2 Tyrese Rice, 4 Nikola Vučević, 6 Suad Šehović, 7 Nikola Pavličević, 8 Dino Radončić, 11 Marko Todorović, 14 Bojan Dubljević, 15 Filip Barović, 17 Vladimir Mihailović, 20 Nikola Ivanović, 21 Nemanja Vranješ, 22 Nemanja Đurišić (Coach: Montenegro Bogdan Tanjević)


2019 FIBA World Cup: finished 25th among 32 teams

4 Nikola Vučević, 5 Derek Needham, 6 Suad Šehović, 7 Nemanja Radović, 8 Sead Šehović, 10 Aleksa Popović, 11 Marko Todorović, 14 Bojan Dubljević, 20 Nikola Ivanović, 23 Dino Radončić, 30 Petar Popović, 51 Milko Bjelica (Coach: Montenegro Zvezdan Mitrović)

Records[]

Largest home victory
102-58,  Montenegro Iceland, 26 August 2009, Podgorica
Largest away victory
37-100,  San Marino Montenegro, 2 June 2017, Serravalle
Largest home defeat
65-80,  Montenegro Israel, 20 August 2014, Podgorica
Largest away defeat
99-60,  Spain Montenegro, 1 September 2017, Cluj-Napoca
Longest winning streak
13 matches, (6 September 2008 - 14 August 2010)
Longest losing streak
4 matches, (1 September 2011 - 5 September 2011; 1 September 2019 - 9 September 2019)
Most scored points in a match
113,  Albania Montenegro 73-113
Least scored points in a match
55,  Greece Montenegro 71–55,  Netherlands Montenegro 68-55
Most conceded points in a match
100,  Latvia Montenegro 100-68
Least conceded points in a match
37,  San Marino Montenegro 37-100
Highest home attendance
5,500,  Montenegro Serbia 72–62, 2 September 2012, Podgorica
Highest away attendance
18,000,  Serbia Montenegro 71–73, 18 August 2012, Belgrade

Head to head record[]

Below is the list of official performances of the Montenegro national basketball team against every single opponent.

Last updated: 18 August 2021

Kit[]

Manufacturer[]

  • Italy Kappa (2008–2011)
  • China Peak (2011–present)

[]

  • Montenegro VOLI (2008–2011)
  • Montenegro diva (2012–2014)
  • Montenegro EPCG (2014–2015)
  • Montenegro m:tel (2015–present)

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches in the November 2020 and February 2021 windows will be played behind closed doors in select host cities.[5]
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches during the European Pre-Qualifiers second round window in August 2021 were played in a single location in select host cities.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  2. ^ Eurobasket – Montenegro Profile Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ http://www.vijesti.me/sport/cudo-crna-gora-trojkom-ivanovica-sa-pola-terena-srusila-srbiju-88110
  4. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QFeZfpVkxo
  5. ^ "Statement regarding the November 2020 and February 2021 Qualifiers". Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Find out who is hosting the European Pre-Qualifiers Second Round". Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Montenegro during the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers in Aug. 2021". Retrieved 12 August 2021.

External links[]

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