History was made in the Serbian Basketball League (KLS) last weekend. The final tournament was played in Niš for the first time, and neither Red Star nor Partizan won the title - the trophy went to Spartak from Subotica, which crowned years of rise, both in Serbian and regional basketball.
The team, which has been led for three years by former coach of Budućnost Voli, Vladimir Vlade Jovanović, first eliminated Borac from Čačak in the quarterfinals, after two victories, and then arrived in Niš where in the semifinals, for the second season in a row, they eliminated Red Star (90:89), while in the final, after overtime, they were better than FMP (76:73). Spartak wrote history, and history was written with the signatures of Montenegrin players, Igor Drobnjak and Danilo Nikolić, who made a huge contribution and were one of the key players on the way to the title.
The title has been celebrated in Subotica since Sunday, the entire city is on its feet, last night a celebration was organized on Freedom Square, and between the celebrations, Drobnjak used the time to talk to "Vijesti" about winning the title, but also the entire season.
"The impressions have partially settled. A truly incredible victory in the final and the title won. We have reached a historic trophy. The first title for Spartak, we have broken the dominance of Red Star and Partizan. An incredible feeling, I believe that only as time passes will we see what kind of work we have done. We are overjoyed and satisfied. A truly beautiful thing," Drobnjak told "Vijesti".
The Montenegrin national team player scored 21 points and seven assists in the semi-final against Red Star Belgrade, while in the final against FMP he had 13 points, four assists and three rebounds.
"For the second year in a row, Sparak eliminated Red Star in the semifinals, which makes it even more significant. An incredible victory this season in the semifinals, we played the game perfectly, we were at a high level, which is reflected in the result. In the final against FMP, we showed quality, we had a 13-point lead, but then we just stopped, nervousness set in, we didn't want to. It wasn't a nice feeling when we went into overtime after a 13-point lead. But, in the end, we played an extra five minutes with our heads held high, were calm and confident, and deservedly won the title. When the line is drawn - this was a more stressful, but nicer way to get to the trophy."
In the end, another successful season for the "doves" from Subotica. Spartak managed to reach the playoffs in the ABA League, first through the play-out, and then the play-in, in which they were eliminated by Dubai, while in their debut participation in the FIBA Champions League, they passed the group and reached the play-in, in which they were eliminated by the Greek team Karditsa.
"We had a very successful season, although during a period it didn't seem like we were heading in that direction. We had a lot of problems with injuries, we unfortunately lost some games, which may have been a result of inexperience. But, after all, we stayed together, continued to work and believed in what we were doing. In the end, everything paid off. For the first time in history, Spartak played in Europe - we passed the group stage of the FIBA Champions League, but we lost in the play-in to Karditsa. It seems that we are perhaps a better team and that we could have passed them. In the ABA League, we reached the playoffs the hard way, played in the semi-finals of the Serbian Cup, and now in the end we won the title and we should be happy and proud of this season," summed up Drobnjak.
Drobnjak arrived at Spartak last summer. His arrival in Subotica was a complete success, as the Montenegrin international was one of the team's leaders. In the ABA League, he averaged 10,6 points and 3,8 assists, in the FIBA Champions League eight points and finally in the KLS, he averaged 14 points.
"I didn't expect it to be like this, but I took advantage of all the opportunities that came my way. I'm satisfied with my season and the games, the entire season. For my first professional season outside of Montenegro and Podgorica, it was really good."
He had great help from coach Jovanović, with whom he worked at Buducnost, but also from Danilo Nikolić.
"Coach Jovanović and the other guys made it easier for me to adapt. Vlade was my coach at Buducnost, so I was familiar with his system and work. There's also Danilo Nikolić, who I played with before and we know each other well. I've also known some of the guys from before, some of whom I played with at Mega. From the very beginning, I felt like I'd been here for a long time," Drobnjak pointed out.
He particularly emphasizes that he was pleased to have Nikolić by his side.
"He also had a good season, showing that he is our most experienced and highest quality player. It meant a lot to me, both on and off the field, to have someone of my own here, who is ready to help me in all situations."
The season is over, it's still too early to talk about plans for the next one.
"It's too early to talk about it. I just finished the season. I'll have to rest a bit, and then see what's best for me going forward," said Drobnjak.
I was delighted with the conditions in Subotica
Spartak has been on an upward trajectory for years. The club won the ABA2 league in 2024 and has been growing steadily ever since.
"When I arrived in September, I was delighted with the conditions Spartak has. The club has been constantly growing since winning the ABA2 league, and has plans for the future, to improve even more. The results show that and I am very satisfied," said Drobnjak.
In July, to confirm the second phase
After the season with Spartak, Drobnjak will take a short break, and then he will have to play with the Montenegrin national team in the World Basketball Championship qualifiers. Our team is 2-2 after two "windows", and in the July round they will play Portugal (July 2), who is also 2-2, and then in the last round they will host Romania (July 5). The Romanians are 1-3, and the leader is Greece with three wins and one loss. Three teams from Group B will advance to the next stage and will face Spain, Georgia and most likely Ukraine.
"We did a great job by defeating Greece. As for the next 'window' - we first need to see what our lineup will be, as well as Portugal and Romania. I believe we should use this victory over Greece and confirm our passage," said Drobnjak.
Zvezdan Mitrović takes over the team from Andrej Žakelj in July.
"Žakelj did a really good job. Zvezdan Mitrović knows the system, he has had incredible success with the national team and I believe he will continue to do so. I met with Mitrović twice this season, we talked, but it was more about other things," concluded Drobnjak.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
