The basketball players of Budućnost Voli have a great campaign in the AdmiralBet ABA League behind them, but it was not enough to win their second regional championship title in history.
The Podgorica team lost to Partizan 4:90 in the 75th game of the finals for their third defeat - this was the "black and whites'" eighth title, the second in the last four years since Željko Obradović returned to the bench.
Buducnost had a chance, and a big one at that - they had home court advantage in the final, but they squandered it at the start of the series in an unreal way when, in the last fifty seconds, they allowed Partizan to come back from minus eight and win in overtime.
They couldn't fix that mistake, especially since they didn't have McKinley Wright's contribution in tonight's match from the 2nd minute.
The American was injured on his landing when he fell on Sterling Brown's leg and never returned to the court...
It was a huge handicap, especially in the second half, which Partizan opened furiously - they reached plus 16, Buducnost somehow got back to minus nine, but with their desperate shooting percentages - they shot 14-3 three-pointers - they couldn't beat a much weaker away rival than the Euroleague team. Especially in a match of this importance...
And that's it, the "blues" have plenty of reasons to be proud of their A-League season, but it seems they have even more reason to be sad that it wasn't crowned with a ring.
PARTISAN - THE FUTURE LOVES 90:75 (26:26, 22:18, 22:15, 20:16)
Beograd - Belgrade Arena. Attendance: 21.434. Referees: Javor, Nedović, (Slovenia), Porobić (BiH).
Partizan: Davis 18, Lundberg 13, K. Jones 17, Washington 3, Koprivica 3, Marinkovic, Pokusevski 2, Brown 18, Bonga 13, Lakic, Mike, T. Jones 3.
Buducnost Voli: Morgan 5, Sulajmon 11, Ilic, Megi 7, Slavkovic 4, Tanaskovic 14, Ferel 23, Jovanovic, Drežnjak, Omic, Wright, Kamenjas 11.
End of the game - Partizan is the new ABA League champion, defeating Buducnost 90:75, who had been playing without the injured McKinley Wright since the second minute of the fourth game.
With 90 seconds left, Buducnost is losing 88:69.
Brown also hit a three-pointer, and Partizan went 20 points ahead - 87:67. There is no more hope for Buducnost.
Tanaskovic fights as hard as he can, especially under the Partizan basket - he scored on a foul and reduced the lead to 81:65.
Carliko Jones' three-pointer for a huge plus 19 - 81:62, timeout by Jacqueline and the last chance to wake up his team, which did not look like itself in the second half.
There are four minutes and seven seconds left.
With four and a half minutes left, Partizan leads 78:62.
Unsportsmanlike foul by Kamenjaš in a duel with Tyreke Jones, Partizan leads 78:61.
The future is down 16 after a three-pointer by Washington (77:61) with just over five and a half minutes left.
Karlik Jones was safe from the penalty spot, then Jovanović hit a three-pointer, but was late with the shot - Partizan leads 74:61.
Ferrell hit a floater, and then Tyreek Jones from a difficult position - 72:61.
Partizan had the first attack in the last period.
Buducnost is down 11 after 30 minutes of basketball - losing 70:59.
Partizan was also up 16 points, the "blues" responded, but they are still far behind.
The future is in a single-digit deficit - Morgan scored for 68:59.
New points from Tanaskovic for 65:55, but Davis scored a three-pointer on the other side - 68:55 for the "black and whites".
Mini series for Buducnost, four easy points by Tanaskovic for 65:53.
Obradović now called for a timeout, is this a sign of better play by the "blues" in the last 15 minutes of the 4th game of the final?
Bonga's dunk, Partizan is on the rise, and Buducnost is having a hard time.
The home team leads 65:49, another timeout for Žakel.
Ferrell scored the first points for Buducnost after almost four minutes - Partizan leads 60:46 after a three-pointer by Lundberg.
Ferel immediately brought it back - 60:49.
Partizan opened the second half with a 7:0 run, taking a double-digit lead for the first time - 55:44. Žakelj called a timeout.
For the second attack in a row, Buducnost had no idea, Davis hit a three-pointer and Partizan was up seven - 51:44.
Bonus video:
