Montenegro to jump on Vooch's back, go for glory in Riga
PODGORICA (Montenegro) - One of the top players at last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Nikola Vucevic, is set to lead the charge for Montenegro as they take aim at the country's first-ever Olympic berth.
The 2.08m (6ft 10in) center, a 14-year veteran of the NBA, is the headline name in Montenegro's 17-man squad for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga.
"Vooch" averaged 19.8 points and 8.8 rebounds at the World Cup. His average efficiency of 24.0 per game was tied with Finland's Lauri Markkanen for the fifth highest in the competition.
Vucevic's signature game was an 18-point, 16-rebound, 2-block effort that helped Montenegro throw a scare into the USA in the Second Round. The Americans led 72-68 with three minutes left before winning 85-73.
Montenegro, who reached the Round of 16 at FIBA EuroBasket 2022 before falling to hosts Germany, 85-79, have been moving from strength to strength under coach Bosko Radovic.
Dino Radoncic will have a key role for Montenegro at the OQT Riga
Along with Vucevic in the 17-man squad are Kendrick Perry, who each averaged 15.2 points per game in Montenegro's impressive FIBA EuroBasket 2022 campaign and was the second leading scorer at 10.8 ppg at the World Cup.
Montenegro 17-man squad for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Riga
| Filip Anđušić | Vasilije Baćović | Luka Bogavac | Igor Drobnjak |
| Emir Hadžibegović | Aleksa Ilić | Jovan Kljajić | Zoran Nikolić |
| Kendrick Perry | Petar Popović | Jonah Radebaugh | Dino Radončić |
| Marko Simonović | Andrija Slavković | Zoran Vučeljić |
Nikola Vučevič |
| Fedor Žugić |
Perry, a star guard with Unicaja Malaga, was named MVP of the Basketball Champions League Final Four and was also voted to the Star Lineup for the Season Eight. He is a naturalized guard, as is UCAM Murcia's Jonah Radebaugh, who is also on the 17-man list of players.
Radebaugh and Perry are currently trading blows in the Spanish Liga Endesa Semi-Finals.
Other key men named in the squad are Marko Simonovic, Dino Radoncic, will try to win the OQT in Latvia, where Montenegro will face Brazil and Cameroon in Group B, with Latvia, Georgia and the Philippines in Group A.
Bojan Dubljevic, Nikola Ivanovic, Vladimir Mihailovic and Marko Todorovic are hurt and won't be available, while Nemanja Radovic is also not in the squad after asking to take a break this summer.
FIBA
