Nothing from the Champions League playoffs, although with three minutes left in the group stage it seemed that "Morač" would see at least two more matches this season...
Buducnost led 21:18, and had a plus two until the last two minutes, everything was ready for a big celebration, but then Bojana Popović's girls brought Rapid back to life with unreal mistakes - which somehow became the hallmark of this team.
The Romanian team reached the big point (21:21) through Sorina Grozav from the seven-meter point and the last shot of the match.
The turbulent Champions League season, which could easily have gone on without the Podgorica team, ended in a sad way. In the end, even the closure of Vipers did not help, and the two-time European champion was left without a second phase for the second year in a row.
Buducnost played an excellent first half, even when Rapid managed to "melt" a three-goal lead, there was no let-up, but the response was right.
The Montenegrin champion, led by Jelena Vukčević and Armel Atingra, led from the start of the game, had a three-point advantage several times, and Rapid managed to take advantage of the only crisis of the "blue and whites" during the first 30 minutes and reach 9:6 from 9:9 with a goal by Sorina Grozav.
It may have happened earlier in the season that Buducnost's performance would decline after such situations, but this time the reaction was excellent. Captain Ivona Pavićević scored from a difficult position, Jelena Vukčević scored her sixth goal at that moment, and Jelena Radivojević's "bomb" in the last second of the first half took the two-time European champion from a promising 12:9 to the break.
Bojana Popović's girls could have gone up by four at the start of the second half, but Rapid always came back and through Dorina Koršoš and Eliza Bučeski came close to 13:12.
This was followed by another response from Jelena Radivojević and Ivona Pavićević for another plus three (15:12), and the Romanian team, through their first star Estavana Polman and many mistakes and missed shots by Buducnost, reached 15:15 in the 48th minute.
The torture and 12-minute period without a goal was broken by Nina Bulatović, Jelena Radivojević and Tanja Ivanović scored, and the Podgorica team has a huge plus three with three minutes left (21:18).
It seemed unattainable...
However, Polman and Grozav quickly brought Rapid back to 21:20, and Buducnost then had an attack to finish the story, but Tanja Ivanovic attempted an impossible and illogical pass to Nadja Kadovic and gave her rival a chance to get a point they didn't deserve with their play.
Grozav put an end to the dismal season from seven meters, thus raising many additional question marks over Buducnost for the next season.
FUTURE - RAPID 21:21 (12:9)
Podgorica - M:tel Hall "Morača". Attendance: 800. Referees: Barisas and Petrusis (Lithuania). 5-pointers: Buducnost 3 (1), Rapid 1 (4). Suspensions: Buducnost 4, Rapid XNUMX minutes.
Future: Atingre (nine saves), Hauge, Marsenić, Monti-Danijelson, Vukčević 7 (3), Mitrović, Godeč, Popović, Marković, Ivanović 3, Radevic, Bulatović 3, Tomova, Radivojević 4, Kadović 1, Pavicevic 3.
Rapid: Ćuka, Sandru (15 saves and two 1-meter shots), Gonzalez, Gorškova 2, Bućeski 1, Kasoma 3, Tulea, Kujate 4, Koršoš 6, Stojka, Fernandes, Hernandez, Polman 1, Janjušević 3, Ristovska, Grozav 1 (XNUMX).
Bonus video:
