Montenegro pulled out a narrow 67–65 victory over Greece in Athens, moving level with them in the Group B standings at 2–1.
Greece suffered its first defeat in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, falling in dramatic fashion to Montenegro.
In a tightly contested thriller in Athens, Montenegro edged the hosts 67–65 to claim their second win in Group B. The result leaves both teams tied at 2–1 after three games.
The matchup was evenly balanced throughout the full 40 minutes, with neither side able to establish clear control. In the closing seconds, however, Montenegro found a way to prevail. Greece had one final chance to send the game to overtime, but Vassilis Toliopoulos’ last-second attempt came up short, sealing an important road victory for the visitors.
Zoran Nikolic led Montenegro with an outstanding performance, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
For Greece, Kostas Antetokounmpo was the leading scorer, posting 13 points and four rebounds.
The two teams will meet again on March 2 in Podgorica for their next World Cup Qualifiers clash.
Montenegro: Zoran Nikolic 19 (6/10 FG, 6 REB, 2 STL), Emir Hadzibegovic 10 (4/6 FG, 7 REB), Igor Drobnjak 7, Marko Simonovic 6 (7 REB, 3 AST);
Greece: Kostas Antetokounmpo 13 (5/6 FG, 4 REB), Kostas Papanikolaou (5/13 FG, 2/7 3PT, 6 REB, 3 AST), Elijah Mitrou-Long 8 (2/6 3PT, 4 AST).
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