MONTENEGRO bounced back from an opening day loss in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament by turning back Cameroon, 70-66, in Group B action held at the Arena Riga in Latvia, Wednesday night.
Marko Simonovic had 18 points, six rebounds, and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line, while Luka Bogavac and Kendrick Perry added 13 and 12 apiece for Montenegro, which fell to Brazil, 81-72, on opening night in the same venue.
Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds for the 17th ranked Montenegro which finished the preliminary with an even 1-1 card in Group B.
Bogavac scored on a transition to cap a 15-2 run by Montenegro in the third quarter to finally take control of the match.
“I don’t have a lot to say. The only positive thing in our game is this victory,” said Montenegro head coach Bosko Radovic.
The group phase ends on Thursday as Brazil goes for a sweep and the top spot in the group against Cameroon.
A win by Brazil, ranked 11th in the world, would have it as the no. 1 team in the group and will face the second seeded team in Group A in the crossover semifinals.
Brazil features Golden State Warriors wingman Gui Santos.
Gilas Pilipinas is currently on top of Group A with a 1-0 record following a huge 89-80 upset of Latvia, which fell to a 1-1 card.
Georgia is at the bottom of the standings at 0-1.
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