We're all rooting for a repeat of 2018.

Budućnost Voli has been waiting for the AdmiralBet ABA League title for seven years. In 2018, the "blues" defeated Red Star Belgrade in the final, making club history, and then reached the regional competition final twice more - in 2019 and 2021.

Four years after the last final, Budućnost has another chance to win the cup. Andrej Žakelj's team won first place in the regular season, eliminated Mega in the quarterfinals, and in the semifinals, after three games, last season's champion, Red Star. Their rival in the final is Partizan, the series starts on Thursday in Podgorica.

Buducnost, therefore, has a chance to write a new historical chapter, to make the rich club history even richer. And one of the players who wrote the history of the club from Podgorica in 2018, the silent hero of Buducnost, the center who made a huge contribution to winning the title, Filip Barović, commented for "Vijesti" on the semi-final series, the chances of the "blues" in the final, and also recalled the famous season of the Podgorica team in the regional competition.

"Budućnost looked fantastic in the first game. They had high shooting percentages, I don't think anyone expected them to defeat Red Star like that. There was a reckless reaction from the fans, which cost the Podgorica team a full stadium in the third game. But, considering that they made it to the final, I think that recklessness paid off cheaply. They should be smarter in the final, because a full "Morač" certainly means a lot to the players. It was expected that Red Star would respond in the second game. It was known that Budućnost had an advantage in the third game, because they were playing on home turf. Like many times this year, McKinley Wright was a hero. There's a reason why good things happen to that guy. This is an additional injection of confidence to the great confidence he had, which will mean a lot in the final," Barović said for "Vijesti".

Buducnost deserved to play in the finals, the season in the regional competition was great.

"They deserved to play in the final. They had a lot of wins during the league stage, they did great in both playoff series and reached the final. When you play the final with home court advantage, then the goal is certainly to win it. Of course, it won't be easy, Partizan won't give up. They are a quality team led by Željko Obradović. After a victory like this over Red Star in the third game and with home court advantage, I think the title can be won," the former center of the "blues" is convinced.

The future has a great chance.

"This is a great opportunity, which should not be missed. Of course, we are all rooting for a repeat of 2018, regardless of the fact that first place does not lead to the Euroleague. A title is a title - that is what is remembered. All the players, if they win the title, will be remembered, just as we are remembered today for that title."

If Buducnost wins the title, they will not play in the Euroleague. This may also call into question the importance of the ABA League, but Barović emphasizes that the regional competition has its purpose.

"I think there is a purpose to the ABA League. When we won the title, we didn't know if the club and the city would be able to deliver some of the conditions that the Euroleague required. Fortunately for us, they succeeded in that. We were happy then, because we won the title, without knowing if we would play in the Euroleague. We can see the Greek league playoffs where they play every game to the death. In the Italian league, Armani can be eliminated in any series, they will play in the Euroleague. And they fight until the very end. I think anyone who says that this title is unimportant is trying to create some alibi variant for defeat," explains Barović.

The 2018 title was very significant for the club for many reasons.

"It was important for both the club and the city. We were able to watch the best European teams. The club improved organizationally, together with the city, it improved the infrastructure of the stadium. When someone looks back at those pictures, they can see how much things have changed for the better, so every good result brings some changes. That could be the case this time too."

We weren't aware enough of how many good things we had done.

Filip Barović recalled 2018, a title that is still being recounted today.

"It seems much better to me than it did back then. I was part of the system then and maybe I didn't see the success we achieved realistically enough. I think it was a great success, which ultimately spilled over to the national team, because there were a lot of players who went on to win big competitions later. I think all of us as a group at that moment weren't aware enough of how many good things we had done."

The Future Games and reaching the finals are an opportunity to popularize basketball even more, for even more children to start playing this sport.

"I know how popular we were after winning the title and how many children knew how to approach, take photos, ask questions, wear Buducnost T-shirts and jerseys. Regardless of the fact that this and this team are different in terms of the number of foreigners, I think this Buducnost team can achieve that effect. We're talking about McKinley Wright - you could see in the winning shot how much it means to him, that he's not one of those foreigners who came just to take the money," concluded Filip Barović.