TAMPERE (Finland) - Montenegro star Nikola Vucevic is not ready for his FIBA EuroBasket career to end just yet.
After three straight defeats, Vucevic led Montenegro to an 87-81 victory over Sweden to ensured they lived to fight another day to avoid an early exit.
"I want to go to Riga, the team wants to go to Riga."
The Chicago Bulls big man put on a performance for the ages against the Swedes, going for 25 points and 15 rebounds with 4 assists and 3 blocks thrown in for good measure.
Vucevic has already indicated this is likely to be his last EuroBasket appearance, and is determined to ensure Montenegro's journey at the 2025 edition is only starting in Tampere.
"There was no way I was ending the journey here," Vucevic stated emphatically.
"I want to go to Riga, the team wants to go to Riga. We came here with a goal; it took us a while to figure it out, but day by day, we're getting better. We're understanding our situation, and we want this.
"We just have to do our job, play hard, and if we do that, play and compete the right way with the right mentality. We got a good shot. And from there, we got a clean slate and we get ready to do battle again."
Now in his fourth EuroBasket, Vucevic - who missed out in 2022 - is looking to continue Montenegro's recent record of making it to the Round of 16, for what would be a third successive tournament at that stage.
They control their own fate going into a final Group Phase clash with Great Britain, on Wednesday.
Tournament | Record | Final Position |
|---|---|---|
2011 | 1-4 | 21st |
2013 | 2-3 | 17th |
2015 | Did not qualify | N/A |
2017 | 3-3 | 13th |
2022 | 3-3 | 13th |
Another victory will be enough to secure their tickets on a flight to Riga, but they are not taking anything for granted.
Vucevic warned: "Great Britain's record doesn't reflect who they are as a team. We know we are going to have to work hard for this.
"They are a fast team, love to shoot, move the ball quickly, so our conditioning, our awareness, and communication will be key."
It's a statement echoed by guard Kyle Allman, who hit all 10 of his points in the latter stages of the fourth quarter in the win against Sweden.
"I want the Final Phase, man, we need it," he stated. "We've battled hard, we've been fighting through adversity. So we will be ready, and yeah, I want to keep our EuroBasket going past Finland.
"We know Great Britain awaits us now, so we've got to be ready. They're a fast team, so we've got to match them and play our game."
FIBA