The final of the volleyball cup tournament begins in Budva, the cup is defended by the Budva Riviera

Although the semi-finals are being played today, all attention is on Sunday's final of the Montenegrin Volleyball Cup - Jedinstvo and Mornar cannot even come close to Budva Riviera or Budućnost, so the "eternal" rivals will decide on primacy in this competition, as they have won three each trophy.

Bearing in mind that they are playing at home, that, objectively, they are a better and more experienced opponent, and that this season they have a 4-0 record in victories against Podgorica, Budva are favorites to win the cup.

"Considering the results so far, we are the favorites. Realistically, we have a better team, we have shown that through the games so far, and the most important thing is that we are all healthy and ready for the final. However, we should not forget that the Cup is a specific competition in which, from , practically, in one game, with due respect to the rival in the semi-finals, the trophy can be won. That's how we are preparing, so that there are no surprises," Budvanska Riviera coach Siniša Reljić, who was appointed this week, told "Vijesti" for the coach of the junior national team of Serbia.

Considering that she played 12 matches of the Balkan League, it was expected that Budućnost might take the "scalp" of the Budva team at least once in the league part of the championship, but nothing happened. True, they played better in Budva, where they took two sets in the first time and one set in the second. They enter the final tournament with an injured Ječmenica (ankle), and the fact that captain Đuranović missed a lot of training due to university commitments.

"I hope that we will be ready for the final, and that we will play a match worthy of the final, that the volleyball public will enjoy that match, regardless of the fact that we had many problems in the past period. The cup is a competition in which there are a lot of surprises. However, not only because of the home field, bigger because of quality and experience, it is certain that Budva are the favorites. It is our duty to present ourselves in the best possible light, to provide the best game possible, and that after the final, either because of a good result or our good play, a little more we will interest the Montenegrin public in this youth of the Future," Podgorica coach Zoran-Beli Vukčević told "Vijesta".

Jedinstvo and Mornar will perform in the final tournament of the Cup, although it was questionable, because both clubs do not have the financial means to pay their part of the expenses for officials (350 euros each). In order not to cancel participation, and thus a new circus was created in Montenegrin volleyball, Bjelopoljci and Barani will perform without payment, thanks to the intervention of the president Cvetko Pajković and OSCG.

"We are satisfied with the games this season and the third place in the championship, which is certainly a success for us. We do not have big ambitions in the Cup, we are aware that Budva Riviera is far ahead of us both in terms of personnel and organization, so the host is the absolute favorite. However, we will not surrender in advance and we will try to offer the strongest possible resistance to the opponent with a sacrificial game", emphasized Jedinstva coach Mladen Miladinović.

In 12 rounds of the league part, Mornar did not win a set, it was illusory to take it in the Cup.

"We know very well who our opponent is in the semifinals and we know very well that our chances of going to the finals are practically reduced to a minimum. However, matches like this represent an additional motivation for young players to show perhaps even more than they can realistically do at a given moment. It is known who is the absolute favorite, the claim that we should "threaten" them is not in our favor, but I am sure that we will do everything in our power to offer the strongest possible resistance to the favored rival", said the coach of Sailors, Nebojša Grabež.

Saturday

Semi-final

Unity - Budva Riviera (12.00)

Sailor - Future (19.00)

Sunday

Final - 18.00 (TV)

Previous winners

2007 - Budućnost (3:2 against Budva Riviera)

2008 - Budućnost (3:1 against Budva Riviera)

2009 - Budućnost (3:1 against Budva Riviera)

2010 - Budva Riviera (3:0 against Budućnost)

2011 - Budva Riviera (3:0 against Budućnost)

2012 - Budva Riviera (3:1 against Budućnost)