On the penultimate day of the competition at the Games of the Small States of Europe, Montenegrin representatives won two medals. Shooter Miloš Božović won silver in the 10-meter air rifle discipline, finishing second in the final with a score of 242.7. The first place went to Andreas Charalambous from Cyprus with a score of 246.2. In the same discipline, in the women's competition, Ksenija Jukić finished fifth (176.6). With a lot of emotions and tears, our women's rugby team celebrated the bronze medal after a fierce battle. They defeated Luxembourg 15-7 in the match for the third place. They showed how much it means to them, how much they desire it, with what passion they defend the colors of Montenegro, and they fully justified their inclusion in our Olympic team. Previously, they were defeated by Malta and Andorra in the group stage but beat Luxembourg with the same score as in the bronze medal match. "We fought for each other, and this medal means a lot to us. We came as underdogs, but I believe we represented our country and our sport in a beautiful way. I hope that this result and the affirmation of rugby will contribute to the development of this sport in our country and that more girls will become part of our family," said Ivana Čađenović. Filip Radović reached the semifinals of the individual table tennis tournament at the GSSE and secured a bronze medal. In the group stage, Filip achieved three victories against Mladenović from Luxembourg (3:1), Geminiani from Monaco (3:2), and Giardi from San Marino (3:1). In the quarterfinals, he had a fantastic match and defeated Malta's representative Dimitrij Prokopcov, a former representative of the Czech Republic and Ukraine. Filip was trailing 1-0, turned it around to 2-1, had a match point, but his opponent leveled the score to 2-2. In the fifth set, Filip was losing 8-4 and then 9-7, but our ace ultimately triumphed 11-9 for a 3-2 victory. Filip Radulović finished the competition in the group stage due to an injury. Ivona Petrić and Simona Perović were stopped in the quarterfinals. Ivona was defeated 3-1 by Ariel Barbosa from Luxembourg, while Simona lost to Maltese competitor Camella Iacob (3:0). The Montenegrin women's basketball team secured a place in the final of the Games of the Small States of Europe in a dominant fashion by defeating Cyprus 78-44. The "Reds" were sensationally defeated by the same opponents yesterday, but the difference in class is evident, so they showcased their superiority in this competition with a serious approach in the semifinals. They will play against Luxembourg in the gold medal match on Saturday at 2:30 PM; they previously defeated Luxembourg 64-52 in the opening match of the tournament. Milica Jovanović and Bojana Kovačević both scored 16 points in the semifinal victory, while Marija Leković contributed 13 points, and Sofija Živaljević added 11. "We were a bit shaken after yesterday's very poor performance. We knew we were much more qualified, so we entered with greater motivation and concentration, and the difference in quality became evident. We still have the final ahead, and we want gold. The tournament is a bit unusual for us because we are not used to playing against such opponents, so these matches are, in a way, a challenge. But it's all in preparation for the European Championship. We hope to be in the best possible form by June 15," said Sofija Živaljević. "We justified our role as favorites in the tournament. There was also motivation to seek revenge for the defeat that was hard for us but was also a result of fatigue. Our focus is the European Championship, and I believe we are getting better, more united, and more coordinated with each passing day," said Bojana Kovačević. The men's basketball team was defeated by Malta 84-80 in a match that was interrupted ten seconds before the end by the decision of the referees, who also "stirred up" the atmosphere with a series of very controversial decisions in favor of the home team. The unawarded obvious fouls by the Maltese players and the awarded intentional fouls against our players in the final stages of the match caused outrage among the players and coaching staff of Montenegro. The refereeing crew issued five technical fouls to our bench and players. Tensions arose between the players, and the referees, who were not up to the level of the game and the atmosphere in the stands, decided to end the match before its conclusion. Montenegro is scheduled to play for the third place against Cyprus tomorrow at 12:15 PM. Ahead of the final day of the competition, Milivoj Dukić maintained the first place, and Ilija Marković the second place in sailing. Two regattas are planned for Saturday, if there is enough wind.
