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01 - 18
September 2022
3 Vladimir Mihailovic (MNE)
04/09/2022
Game Report
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Montenegro outlast Vezenkov's Bulgaria, get closer to Berlin

TBILISI (Georgia) - Montenegro had just too much to offer for Bulgaria in a close Group A game, which they won 91-81, despite a fabulous Sasha Vezenkov performance.

Vezenkov had his third straight game with an efficiency of exactly 32, however, Bulgaria couldn't put enough stops together against Montenegro's well-oiled offense.

 
Turning point: Bulgaria had clawed their way back from a 11-point deficit and jumped out to a 75-73 lead, yet Montenegro stepped up to the challenge and closed the game out in the last seven minutes.

TCL Player of the Game: Not only did Vladimir Mihailovic collect 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, but he also played 37 minutes and 40 seconds in a game where every possession mattered.

Stats don't lie: Montenegro coach Bosko Radovic already expressed concerns about playing his leaders too many minutes after Montenegro's second game. However, the quintet of Dubljevic, Drobnjak, Mihailovic, Perry and Radovic combined for 85 out of 91 points.

Bottom line: Montenegro's 2-1 record comes with very important wins against Belgium and Bulgaria for tiebreaker purposes. As for Bulgaria, they will need to beat both Georgia and Belgium to get out of their 0-3 hole.

They said:

"For a game against Bulgaria we prepare for Sasha Vezenkov. He's a great player. He's going to score 28 to 30 points in every game. It's just a question about - when? I think that tonight he didn't score in some key moments." - Montenegro coach Bosko Radovic

"This is a resilient group. In my short time being with this team, I know one thing - when things don't go our way, we stick together and try to figure it out. That's what we did today. We had some guys banged up early. I have to give credit to our guys and how we fought today. " - Kendrick Perry, Montenegro

"We try to change some details on defense, especially in the low post and in pick-and-rolls, but generally the problem is personnel. We don't have many players with defensive skills. It's very difficult to improve this during the championship. We also have no physical skills or big bodies like the opponents have. It's not a problem of desire or tactics." - Bulgaria coach Rosen Barchovski

"We lost organization in the third quarter and made some mistakes on offense. We have to work on our defense because during this tournament we haven't had a quarter with less than 20 points in our basket. We will analyze our game, watch video and fight for wins in the next two games." - Deyan Karamfilov, Bulgaria

 
FIBA