Kljajic, Montenegro "expect a lot" as U16 hosts
LAS PALMAS (FIBA U16 European Championship 2017) - Montenegro celebrated their 10th anniversary of playing internationally under their flag last year by getting all three youth men's teams to Division A. This summer, they are hosting FIBA U16 European Championship 2017 with the goal of qualifying for their first global competition - the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018.
Montenegro's U18 and 20 teams both won promotion to Division A last summer by winning their respective Division B tournaments, meaning the country is now represented in the top flight in all three youth age categories for the first time 10 years after beginning FIBA play.
Montenegro players celebrate winning the FIBA U18 European Championship 2016 Division B - meaning all three of the country's youth national teams would play Division A this summer.
Montenegro stepped up their commitment this year as they decided to host the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017, knowing a top-five showing would get them a spot in the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018 in Argentina.
"We are going for the final for sure," said Jovan Kljajic, who will likely be the captain for the hosts. "We have a very, very good team, and we expect a lot."
Kljajic was one of three players from Montenegro's U16 team last summer - along with Bojan Tomasevic and Stefan Vlahovic - who played as a bottom-level player and will have the experience of beating France, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia en route to an eighth place finish - the country's best-ever U16 showing.Kljajic says he and his teammates this summer will not be satisfied with a repeat of eighth place.
"The best finish we have ever had is eighth place at a European Championship. So this year if we make the first five we would be so happy," said Kljajic, who averaged 12.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals last summer at the FIBA U16 European Championship.
Montenegro will be facing off against Spain, Sweden and Latvia in Group D of the U16 tournament. Not only would a top-five finish get Montenegro a spot in next summer's U17 global spectacle, it would also match the country's best-ever international showing as Vladimir Dasic and Sead Sehovic guided Montenegro to fifth place at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2008.
Kljajic, who starting this season is playing with Spanish club Herbalife Gran Canaria, said he is hoping to have a similar run like fellow Balkan side Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 when Dzanan Musa and Co. won the FIBA U16 European Championship title and qualified their country for the U17 global showcase for the first time.
"We are going for the final for sure. We have a very, very good team, and we expect a lot."Jovan Kljajic
"They did some great things and I hope we can do the same," said Kljajic, who wants to be one of the leaders of the team. "I was the captain of the 2001 generation at the U14 level and led the team. I want to do the same this summer."
The 6ft 6in (1.98m) wing said he expects to have a great crowd in his native Podgorica.
"It's a small country and we all know each other," Kljajic said. "It will be a great experience and I am so happy. When I heard the first time that Podgorica will host it I was so happy."
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