IN what was nearly a candidate for the biggest upset of the 2023 Fiba World Cup, Montenegro just missed out on a late-game stunner against Team USA.
But a late escape by Anthony Edwards and the young American side saw the Montenegrins' hopes fade away.
READ: Edwards saves day as Team USA survives scare from Montenegro
Nikola Vucevic came up with 18 points and 16 boards for Montenegro, which stayed within striking distance of the USA for the most part.
The Chicago Bulls big man was proud of his squad for the performance against the top tournament favorite.
"We had a really good game and I'm very proud of my teammates. We were there for 36 minutes but they made a lot of good shots in the end. We had some turnovers and missed shots that we could've converted," Vucevic said.
"We were complete outsiders and (Team USA) were the favorites, but we put up a great fight and I’m proud of my teammates," he added.
Montenegro head coach Bosko Radovic noted how a 'small country' like theirs played it big in the world stage.
"I am really happy how we opened the game and how we played this game against the United States. They are maybe the best team here in the World Cup, so I'm really proud of everybody who is with the national team. We showed how we can play against the best teams," Radovic shared.
"Small country like Montenegro, 600,000 people, we played tonight maybe one of the best games ever. We played against such a good team, very talented, very athletic, and we were in the game for 35 minutes. In the end, the individual quality of the USA players was the key, they made the shots, we missed the shots."
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