By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Brazil survived a Montenegro comeback from 15 points down to get an 84 – 73 win and top Group F with a 3-0 record. They land in Round 2 Group K where they will face Team USA.
Montenegro finished the Group winless. Coach Zvedan Mitrovic’s team recovered from a 70 – 55 deficit eight minutes left to play to make it 73 -72 in four minutes but didn’t complete the comeback. Brazil responded with a 7-0 run and made sure to remain safe and sound in the two minutes remaining in the match.
Marcelinho Huertas scored 16 points and dished out six assists in 25:00 for Brazil. Cristiano Felicio added 14 points and seven rebounds while Marquinhos Sosa dropped 13 points.
“This game was completely different than the first two. The first game it was the most difficult to approach, I’ll say because if you lose, you are out. After the historic win vs. Greece, it was difficult to come to the court today. But we have enough quality, plus, the most important thing for me, we had three players that didn’t play much vs. Greece but stepped up today: Huertas, Felicio and Benite,” Brazil coach Aco Petrovic said in the post-game presser.
Derek Needham registered a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists for the Montenegrin team, including the bucket that made it 73 – 72. Bojan Dubljevic and Petar Popovic scored 10 apiece.
Orlando Magic All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic played 13 minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing eight boards. Montenegro will now join Group O for the classification games for positions 17 to 32.
“It was our best game in the tournament. Unfortunately, it came too late,” Mitrovic commented. “We fought all 40 minutes but Brazil won. They deserved it.”
Photo: FIBA Basketball