After the matches of the penultimate, 13th round of the EPCG Super League, in which Budva concluded the league part with a perfect performance, it is clear that the volleyball players of Buducnost will skip the play-in as second-place team, where Mornar, Jedinstvo, Sutjeska and Galeb will surely be found.
Budva won first place without dropping a set, while Budućnost and Mornar justified their role as favorites in front of their fans.
An important triumph was achieved by the Mornar team in SC "Topolica" in the fight for third place in the standings and a more favorable rival in the play-in. They celebrated against a potential opponent in the playoffs, the Sutjeska team, 3:0 (25:16, 25:22, 25:15) and achieved their seventh victory of the season, while the team from Nikšić suffered their seventh defeat and with one round left, they are surely the fifth-placed team in the championship.
In the opening match of the round, Mornar's top scorers were particularly enthusiastic - Lazar Cimbaljević scored 18 points, Stefan Radević had 16, while in Sutjeska, Dragan Stojanović was the most efficient with nine points and Stevan Crnogorac with seven. Mornar will play Jedinstvo in Bijelo Polje in the last round only on Wednesday, February 19, due to the occupancy of the Nikoljac hall, and the final match of the league part will decide third place and possible avoidance of a clash with the Budva team in the semi-finals of the playoffs. Jedinstvo was free in the 13th round.
An important match for the placement and the continuation of the winning streak was played by Budućnost, which beat Lovćen 3:0 (25:12, 25:17, 25:13) in the sports hall of the Medical School. Only Budva has defeated Dejan Radić's team this season, and the coach of the blue and whites gave a chance to young players against the last-placed team in the league. Seventeen-year-old Kosta Poleksić had a great 11 points, as did the young middle blocker Adnan Silajdžić, while on the other side Žarko Radunović and Branko Stanojević won four points each. Lovćen has lost a set this season, and they will have a chance to change that against Galeb on Wednesday, however, the Cetinje team will end the season as last in the standings, as Galeb, along with the triumph in the first duel with Lovćen this season, won two more sets and is unattainable in the last place leading to the play-in.
Galeb welcomed the dominant champion at the end of the round and failed to cause him any problems. In SC "Topolica" Budva celebrated its 12th victory and won its 36th set in a row, thus putting an end to the league stage. After 50 minutes of play, it was 3:0 (25:11, 25:11, 25:18), and in Bar Vasilije Milenković was great with 15 points, along with him Vuk Stanojević was in double figures with 11. For Galeb, Vasilije Božović won six points, and Budva had 27 errors.
In two days, Lovćen will host Galeb (14.00:18.00 p.m.), Sutjeska will host Budućnost (XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.), and seven days after those matches, the SC “Nikoljac” will host a derby between Jedinstvo and Mornar. Budva and Budućnost will await their rivals in the playoff semifinals, which will be contested by the third-placed team and Galeb, and the fourth-placed team and Sutjeska.
In addition to the 14th round of the EPCG Super League, the men's senior teams will face the semi-finals of the Montenegrin Cup at the end of this week, in which Budva and Galeb, as well as Jedinstvo and Budućnost, will be the rivals.
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