Montenegro defeated Cameroon in the second round of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, with a final score of 70:66.
Montenegro struggled with their shooting for a good part of the game, and Cameroon failed to capitalize on the Djetici’s sluggishness in offense. After a very uneventful first quarter, Montenegro had a lead of 16-13.
Again, Bosko Radovic’s players looked totally out of sorts. The Lions were hitting shots from beyond the 6.75-meter line and had a small but noticeable advantage. There wasn’t much happening on the court, as the Montenegrins couldn’t hit anything, leading to a halftime score of 32-29.
Finally, Montenegro found their shooting rhythm, and Nikola Vucevic started finding his game under the baskets. The players in white jerseys took a lead of 41-34 in the middle of the third quarter. After that, the pace dropped again, and the Cameroonians came back to life with three-pointers. However, Radovic’s players withstood the surge, leading 49-42 before the final quarter.
The Montenegrins were again out of sorts, struggling to score, which was also true for the African team. Brice Eyaga Bidias kept his team in the game, while Luka Bogavac hit an important three-pointer midway through the quarter. Both teams were nervous until the end, and Kendrick Perry scored a crucial basket with a foul, converting the free throw as well.
The top scorer for Montenegro was Marko Simonovic with 18 points, and Kendrick Perry added 12. On the other side, Fabien Ateba scored 14 points, and Bidias contributed 12. The equation is clear for Cameroon—they must defeat Brazil to have a theoretical chance of advancing.
Montenegro: Bacovic, Ilic, Vucevic 11p 14s, Hadzibegovic, Slavkovic 5, Radoncic11, Simonovic 18, Jovanovic, Drobnjak, Popovic, Bogavac 13, Perry 12.
Cameroon: Eboua, Choh 2, Gbetkom 4, Eyaga Bidias 12, Kome, Ateba 14, Nyama, Moute A Bidias, Bayehe 11, Narace 6, Hill 10.