After nine years, the AdmiralBet ABA League will no longer feature Mornar from Bar. The Montenegrin team finished last in the standings last season with two wins and 28 losses, but despite that, there was hope until yesterday that they would play in the elite next season.
And as of yesterday, it is definitely known - "Topolica" will not host any AdmiralBet ABA League matches next season. At yesterday's Assembly, it was decided that there will be 18 clubs in the elite next season, but that Mornar will not be in it, nor will Cibona, which lost to Ilirija in the play-offs.
The Sport Club wrote yesterday that Partizan representatives threatened to withdraw from the league at the Assembly session if the previous decisions that Cibona and Mornar would not participate in the elite tier of the regional competition were not respected.
The day after the meeting, Barani also spoke out. In a statement posted on the club's official Facebook page, it is emphasized that yesterday, under item 6, the status of Mornar and Cibona was discussed, that seven representatives of the ABA League voted for their stay, with the payment of a special invitation in the amount of 200 thousand euros, and that five were against. But, the Montenegrin team added - a representative of Partizan threatened that the "black and whites" would withdraw from the league if "small clubs make decisions".
"Despite the fact that at yesterday's Regional Competition Assembly, under item 6, the status of Cibona and Mornar was discussed, and that seven representatives of the ABA League voted for remaining in the competition (wild card, 200 thousand), and five were against, the Pride of Bar and the former European champion still did not get the green light from the biggest clubs. Namely, the representative of BC Partizan concluded that the current champion and the most trophy-winning team in the league would withdraw from it if 'small clubs make decisions'. The ABA League is not the same without 'eternal rivals'. Mornar did not want to complicate the situation, nor to be 'guilty' for the withdrawal of any Belgrade giant," Bar explained.
Mornar has been a member of the ABA League since 2016, and has played in the semifinals of this competition twice - in 2018 and 2021.
"Mornar has also gone through major performance crises. It was on the 'apparatus' in the period from 2010 to 2013, and then came the fairytale years when the Pride of Bar anchored itself on the map of the regional competition, but also on the map of the Eurocup! We owe enormous gratitude to the fans, who have been with our club all these years. They gave us selfless support and were our sixth player, both in the fight for the playoffs and in the fight for survival. We also owe immense gratitude to our Municipality, led by President Dušan Raičević, who helped us to the maximum and came to our aid in these challenging times," Mornar announced.
As things stand now, Mornar will play in the NLB ABA2 league.
"Our club's course is focused on the ABA 2 league. The goal is to sail back into the first league waters of the regional competition as soon as possible because Bar and Barani deserve to watch the highest quality basketball in their city. The club also thanks all its basketball friends who voted for survival in the league, but also all those who always spoke in superlatives about visiting our city," the statement from Mornar states.
Bonus video:
