About 10 days ago, it seemed that the Buducnost Volija basketball players had fallen into a channel from which they would not easily get out.
Desperate editions in the two-leg semi-final of the AdmiralBet ABA League against Crvena zvezda and a minus 79 that will be remembered forever, an injury to the captain Petar Popović, only seven seniors available Petar Mijović for the final of the domestic championship against the heated SC Derby...
Winning the 15th title of the champion of Montenegro was under a big question mark, but the "blues" dominated in the duels with the city rival, won the series 3:0 and at least put out the fire after the elimination from Zvezda.
Mijović thus became the champion of Montenegro for the second time after taking over the team in April, and in an interview for "Vijesti" he chronologically reflected on the course of his third term on the bench of the biggest Montenegrin club.
"It was certainly not easy to take over the team, which after being eliminated from Ulm in the Eurocup and losing to Borc, was not at a high psychological level. It was a challenge to raise it in four or five days and prepare it for the team that played the best basketball in Europe at the time, Partizan. For us, that match was not competitively significant, and Partizan came with the ambition to confirm 1st place. After the 1st half, which was controlled by the rival, we came to the point where a careless foul decided the game," said the 41-year-old expert.
In the quarter-finals against Mega, two faces of Budućnost were seen - dominance in "Morača" and great oscillations in Sremska Mitrovica, where the victory was registered after minus 19.
"In the opening quarter of the first game, we were a little tight, which is somewhat justified, because we entered as absolute favorites, but we are on the wings Eric Green turned the situation in our favor and at one point had 29 points. In Mitrovica, we played the 1st half unacceptably poorly, without energy, which Mega took advantage of to go to the break with a high margin. When we equalized in energy, it took us six or seven minutes to catch the connection. After those two games, we were in a good mood waiting for the semi-final with Zvezda".
On the field, however, it was seen that the difference between the clubs whose rivalry has marked the last few years of the ABA League is huge.
"There are no two matches, and this especially applies to the second one in Podgorica, which I watched several times. In all those analyses, I wanted to get to the point where we put ourselves in a situation where, regardless of the absolute quality in favor of Zvezda, we lost like that. The more I watched, the less contentious the relationship the boys had. In the 3rd minute of the 2nd half in Podgorica, we gave up playing, but that was not the result of the relationship, but Zvezda simply covered everything with their quality. We ceased to exist, and the rival did not budge. He played 40 minutes with the same intensity, he swept us off the field".
Mijović does not want an alibi for his late arrival and the fact that he could not change anything in the lineup.
"We had expectations before the semi-finals, primarily to leave a good impression, but we failed. Regardless of the timing of my arrival, I also felt my responsibility. We reached the semi-finals as third in the table. We have a certain quality, probably not enough to upset Zvezda and Partizan, but certainly higher than the ultimate difference shows. Unfortunately, in the second game we stopped playing and believing that we can come back".
Buducnost had no answer to the aggressive play of Zvezda's defenders, which "swallowed" Treo Bel-Haynes and Green.
"The position of the playmaker is sensitive for us, it was especially visible in the series against Zvezda, because they have four players who can play in the teams of all European teams. Bel-Haynes has shown serious quality in a number of games, but fluctuations were to be expected, as this is his first season in which he has been asked to be consistently at his best. It is certain that in that position we lacked the quality that Budućnost had before Nikola Ivanovic, Nemanja Gordić, Justin Cobbs i Kendrick Perry. Tre is below that level, but with some qualities that are not negligible".
The whole season he was in the shadow of the Canadian Igor Drobnjak, who "disappeared" after the excellent Eurobasket.
"Drobnjak, in the team's conception, should have had much more support during the season. Although he played correctly in the finish, it was felt that he often did not even 'take his clothes off'. If it had continuity, it would certainly help significantly more. He can be a significant part of Buducnosti's selection in the coming period, and he must insist that he continuously gets a chance".
Just five days after the shipwreck against Zvezda, Budućnost had to start the final of the domestic championship with the most pleasant surprise of the ABA League, SC Derby.
The team that defeated Partizan in the middle of Belgrade, and then allowed the "black and whites" to win the championship only at the end of the match in Morača, was given even greater chances for the title.
"Honestly, comparing the form at the end of their series with Partizan and ours with Zvezda, as well as the mental moment, few people gave us a chance to end the series in this way. Derbi did lose his brothers Ivisic, of which Zvonimir had a significantly greater impact on the game, but we were without six foreigners and Petar Popović, who ended the season due to injury. Roles should have been reestablished, yes Suad Sehovic, who was practically without minutes, will be significant in the game. He played a very important role", notes the head of the Blue team.
Buducnost, as a big club, could not allow another setback.
"If the series with Zvezda brought something positive, it was that the players felt that their pride had been hit." We prepared for their main attacking options, before anyone else Meggie, and then and Slavković i Tasic, and controlled the series from the first to the last minute much better than I myself expected", concluded Mijović.
The most important thing is that this administration continues its work, I am ready and ready to go if they elect me
The days of big decisions are coming for Buducnost. President Dragan Bokan's mandate is expiring, and if he stays (which is less and less doubted), he will have to decide who will be the coach, and then the players for the next season will be chosen. Mijović does not yet know if he will remain on the bench.
"I have certain ideas, but I don't like to put things hypothetically. The most important thing is that the people who run the club analyze the season, my performance in these two months and make the best decisions for the future. One of the things that is significant is the appointment of a coach, probably the most urgent. But the most important thing is that the people who set up an organization like Budućnost and created a budget that is extremely good for these conditions, continue their work. They have shown in these 12 years that they can work at a high level. If they judge that I am the one who deserves the role of coach, I am ready, organized and believe that I can answer the task", said Mijović.
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