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Montenegro men's national basketball team

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Montenegro
FIBA ranking17 Steady (15 August 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA2006
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationBasketball Federation of Montenegro (KSCG)
CoachBoško Radović
Nickname(s)Црна Гора / Crna Gora
(The Black Mountain)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances2
MedalsNone
EuroBasket
Appearances4
MedalsNone
Games of the Small States of Europe
Appearances3
MedalsGold Gold: (2015, 2019)
Silver Silver: (2017)
First jersey
Team colours
First
Second jersey
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 four occasions (2011, 2013, 2017, 2022). Montenegro has qualified for the FIBA World Cup twice, in 2019 and 2023. The team has also taken part in smaller tournaments such as the Games of the Small States of Europe.

History

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2006–2014

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Nikola Peković played a single game for Montenegro national team in 2011

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

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Nikola Vučević

In 2015, Montenegro named Bogdan Tanjević new head coach of the national team. Prior to taking the reins 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

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Montenegro made their first appearance at the FIBA World Cup in 2019. The national team has also appeared four times at the EuroBasket (2011, 2013, 2017, 2022). 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

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  Win   Loss

2023

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25 August 2023 Mexico  71–91  Montenegro Pasay, Philippines
16:45 (UTC+8) Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 20–29, 19–20, 13–23
Pts: Cruz 16
Rebs: Jaimes 8
Asts: Stoll 7
Boxscore Pts: Vučević 27
Rebs: Vučević 10
Asts: Perry 7
Arena: Mall of Asia Arena
Attendance: 6,668
Referees: Manuel Mazzoni (ITA), Daniel García (VEN), Kristian Paez (ECU)
27 August 2023 Montenegro  89–74  Egypt Pasay, Philippines
16:45 (UTC+8) Scoring by quarter: 27–17, 24–20, 19–19, 19–18
Pts: Vučević 16
Rebs: Radončić, Vučević 7
Asts: Perry 7
Boxscore Pts: Amin 26
Rebs: Gardner 8
Asts: El Gendy 4
Arena: Mall of Asia Arena
Attendance: 3,751
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Takaki Kato (JPN), Andris Aunkrogers (LAT)
29 August 2023 Montenegro  71–91  Lithuania Pasay, Philippines
20:30 (UTC+8) Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 13–22, 10–18, 21–25
Pts: Vučević 19
Rebs: Simonović 6
Asts: six players 2
Boxscore Pts: Jokubaitis 19
Rebs: Sedekerskis 11
Asts: Jokubaitis 6
Arena: Mall of Asia Arena
Attendance: 5,707
Referees: Boris Krejič (SVN), Kristian Paez (ECU), Manuel Attard (ITA)
1 September 2023 United States  85–73  Montenegro Pasay, Philippines
16:40 (UTC+8) Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 18–20, 24–17, 24–18
Pts: Edwards 17
Rebs: Ingram 5
Asts: Haliburton 6
Boxscore Pts: Vučević 18
Rebs: Vučević 16
Asts: Perry 6
Arena: Mall of Asia Arena
Attendance: 7,699
Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Boris Krejič (SVN), Gatis Saliņš (LAT)
3 September 2023 Greece  69–73  Montenegro Pasay, Philippines
16:40 (UTC+8) Scoring by quarter: 14–19, 16–17, 12–14, 27–23
Pts: Papapetrou 16
Rebs: Bochoridis 6
Asts: Walkup 6
Boxscore Pts: Vučević 19
Rebs: Dubljević 9
Asts: Dubljević 9
Arena: Mall of Asia Arena
Attendance: 6,193
Referees: Daniel García (VEN), Kristian Paez (ECU), Péter Praksch (HUN)

2024

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22 February 2024 Germany  85–61  Montenegro Ludwigsburg, Germany
19:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 28–10, 19–20, 11–20, 27–11
Pts: Da Silva 19
Rebs: Da Silva 7
Asts: Weiler-Babb 5
Boxscore Pts: Perry 16
Rebs: Nikolić 8
Asts: five players 1
Arena: MHPArena
Attendance: 4,141
Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Paulo Marques (POR), Péter Praksch (HUN)
25 February 2024 Montenegro  95–70  Sweden Podgorica, Montenegro
19:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 23–13, 25–20, 20–13
Pts: Perry 18
Rebs: Simonović 8
Asts: Perry 5
Boxscore Pts: Njie 15
Rebs: Gaddefors 8
Asts: Borg, Njie 4
Arena: Morača Sports Center
Attendance: 5,500
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Andris Aunkrogers (LAT), Valentin Oliot (FRA)
2 July 2024 Brazil  81–72  Montenegro Riga, Latvia
15:30 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 15–23, 21–19, 16–14, 29–16
Pts: Caboclo 25
Rebs: Caboclo 9
Asts: Yago 5
Boxscore Pts: Vučević 17
Rebs: Vučević 13
Asts: Perry, Simonović 3
Arena: Arena Riga
Attendance: 1,022
Referees: Ademir Zurapović (BIH), Takaki Kato (JPN), Jenna Reneau (USA)
3 July 2024 Montenegro  70–66  Cameroon Riga, Latvia
15:30 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 16–13, 13–19, 20–10, 21–24
Pts: Simonović 18
Rebs: Vučević 14
Asts: Perry, Popović 5
Boxscore Pts: Ateba, Bayehe 14
Rebs: Eyaga 6
Asts: Hill 10
Arena: Arena Riga
Attendance: 622
Referees: Luis Castillo (ESP), Omar Bermúdez (MEX), Wael Mostafa (EGY)
22 November 2024 Montenegro  vs.  Bulgaria Montenegro
Boxscore

2025

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20 February 2025 Montenegro  vs.  Germany Montenegro
Boxscore
23 February 2025 Sweden  vs.  Montenegro Sweden
Boxscore

Team

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Current roster

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Roster for the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[5]

Montenegro men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
PF 1 Vasilije Baćović 28 – (1996-05-10)10 May 1996 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) NKA Pécs Hungary
PF 2 Aleksa Ilić 27 – (1996-09-17)17 September 1996 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Budućnost Montenegro
C 3 Nikola Vučević 33 – (1990-10-23)23 October 1990 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Chicago Bulls United States
SF 6 Emir Hadžibegović 27 – (1996-08-23)23 August 1996 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) SC Derby Montenegro
SG 7 Andrija Slavković 25 – (1999-02-14)14 February 1999 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Budućnost Montenegro
F 8 Dino Radončić 25 – (1999-01-07)7 January 1999 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Bayern Munich Germany
C 9 Marko Simonović 24 – (1999-10-14)14 October 1999 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) Bahçeşehir Koleji Turkey
G 13 Đorđije Jovanović 21 – (2003-05-14)14 May 2003 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Budućnost Montenegro
PG 22 Igor Drobnjak 24 – (2000-04-20)20 April 2000 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) SC Derby Montenegro
G 30 Petar Popović 27 – (1996-09-12)12 September 1996 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Budućnost Montenegro
PG 44 Luka Bogavac 20 – (2003-09-19)19 September 2003 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) SC Derby Montenegro
PG 55 Kendrick Perry 31 – (1992-12-22)22 December 1992 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Unicaja Spain
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Montenegro Boško Boškovič
  • Montenegro Vladimir Todorović
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 2 July 2024

Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3 Inactive
C Nikola Vučević Bojan Dubljević Zoran Nikolić Vasilije Baćović
PF Nemanja Radović Marko Simonović Aleksa Ilić Andrija Grbović Radosav Spasojević
SF Dino Radončić Emir Hadžibegović Andrija Slavković Zoran Vučeljić Đorđije Jovanović
SG Vladimir Mihailović Jonah Radebaugh Petar Popović Fedor Žugić Balša Živanović
PG Kendrick Perry Nikola Ivanović Igor Drobnjak Luka Bogavac Mašan Vrbica

Head coaches

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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 24–18 EuroBasket 2022 (13th); GSS 2023 (4th); World Cup 2023 (11th)

Notable former players

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Past rosters

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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)


2022 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 24 teams

0 Zoran Vučeljić, 2 Aleksa Ilić, 3 Vladimir Mihailović, 4 Nikola Pavličević, 8 Dino Radončić, 9 Marko Simonović, 11 Nemanja Radović,
14 Bojan Dubljević (C), 19 Zoran Nikolić, 22 Igor Drobnjak, 30 Petar Popović, 55 Kendrick Perry (Coach: Montenegro Boško Radović)


2023 FIBA World Cup: finished 11th among 32 teams

2 Aleksa Ilić, 3 Vladimir Mihailović, 4 Nikola Vučević, 7 Andrija Slavković, 8 Dino Radončić, 11 Nemanja Radović, 14 Bojan Dubljević (C),
19 Marko Simonović, 20 Nikola Ivanović, 22 Igor Drobnjak, 30 Petar Popović, 55 Kendrick Perry (Coach: Montenegro Boško Radović)

Records

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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
104,  Slovenia Montenegro 104–100, (Friendly, 8 August 2023)
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

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

Last updated: 3 July 2024

Kit

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Manufacturer

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  • Italy Kappa (2008–2011)
  • China Peak (2011–2023)
  • Portugal Dhika (2023–present)
[edit]
  • Montenegro VOLI (2008–2011)
  • Montenegro diva (2012–2014)
  • Montenegro EPCG (2014–2015)
  • Montenegro m:tel (2015–present)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ^ Eurobasket – Montenegro Profile Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Čudo! Crna Gora trojkom Ivanovića sa pola terena srušila Srbiju! – Vijesti.me". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  4. ^ "– YouTube" – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Montenegro roster for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament". Retrieved 3 July 2024.
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