Brazil - Montenegro predictions and free betting tips [02/07/2024]

In the first match of the Olympic qualifying group stage in the "Latvian" group, Brazil will face Montenegro. The winner of this match guarantees their place in the next stage of qualification.

Brazil

Many specialists, ahead of last year's World Championship, named Brazil as one of the teams that could surprisingly go far in the tournament. Bruno Caboclo, the ageless Marcelinho Huertas, Yago Dos Santos, and Raul Neto are quite well-known names in European basketball.

The Latin American team played to their strengths in the group stage, defeating Iran and Ivory Coast but losing to Spain. However, even a sensational victory over Canada (65:69) did not allow the team to reach the quarterfinals.

At this year's Pan American Games, the Brazilians took third place, defeating Mexico in the bronze match (61:73). In three friendly matches before this event, Brazil beat Poland (75:91) but lost to Croatia (91:81) and Slovenia (86:80).

Brazil has quite an ageing core, and for many leaders, the upcoming Olympics (if they qualify) could be their last. However, the young point guard Yago Dos Santos could become one of the revelations of this qualification and an X-factor in the battle for a ticket to Paris.

Montenegro

In the first round of last year's World Cup, the Balkan team confidently defeated Mexico (71:91). In the second game against Egypt, Montenegro had a 10-point lead in the first quarter and confidently maintained the difference until the end of the match (89:74).

In the decisive match for first place, Montenegro suffered a crushing defeat to Lithuania (71:91) and advanced to the second group stage from the second position. A loss to the USA (85:73) dashed Montenegro's chances of reaching the quarterfinals, and even a win over Greece (69:73) did not allow Nikola Vucevic's team to qualify for the playoffs.

For the Olympic qualifiers, Montenegro will be represented by their star centre alongside Kendrick Perry, familiar to Russian fans from his time with Nizhny Novgorod, and Marko Simonovic, who has NBA experience.

While the front court of the Balkan team looks solid, the backcourt does not inspire much confidence. This disparity in skill levels between the lines could be the team's main problem in this qualifier.

In friendly matches before the qualifiers, Montenegro defeated Sweden (95:70) and the Bahamas (93:80) but lost to Greece (86:57).

Head-to-Head

The last and only time the teams met in an official match was at the 2019 World Cup. Brazil emerged victorious (84:73).

Prediction for Brazil vs Montenegro

Bookmakers consider Brazil the favourite in this game, but in my opinion, the Montenegrin team may, at the very least, push this match to a close finish.

Brazil will find it very difficult to compete with Vucevic and Simonovic under the rim. If Montenegro can find their rhythm on the offensive end while avoiding early fouls on defence, the Balkan team might even snag a win.