PODGORICA (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - Montenegro playcaller Bogdan Tanjevic revealed his preliminary squad for FIBA EuroBasket 2017, with Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic headlining the 32-strong list of players who will be eager to showcase their talents after failing to qualify for the tournament two years ago.

In many ways, it was the terrific play of the country's NBA star in the Qualifiers last year that helped to make sure the national team didn't miss out on another major tournament. The hard-to-stop Vucevic led the side in points, rebounds and assists, as Montenegro booked a spot in the Final Round with relative ease.

In command of one of the deepest frontcourts in FIBA EuroBasket, the 70-year-old Tanjevic will have to find ways to split the time between the likes of Bojan Dubjlevic, Marko Todorovic, Vladimir Dasic and Nemanja Djurisic, who all played significant roles in the qualification process.

It looks like the star-studded big man rotation could also get some elite backcourt help as well, with Montenegro's naturalized Barcelona playmaker Tyrese Rice included on the squad for the summer ahead after sitting out the Qualifiers last year. 

Meanwhile, the competition for the vacant spots on the FIBA EuroBasket roster already started in the recently-concluded 2017 Games of the Small States of Europe, where the Montenegrin side had to settle for second place after being handed an upset by Cyprus.

Montenegro will resume their summer preparations in July, with the main training camp set to take place in Zlatibor before a series of friendly games scheduled throughout August against Belgium, Italy, Greece, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Having been drawn to a very evenly matched Group C in Cluj-Napoca, coach Tanjevic's side will be up against the national teams of Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and current title holders Spain in the Final Round.

FIBA