Budva M:tel goes further

Budva M:tel fulfilled its goal in Novi Sad and grabbed a place among the eight best teams in Europe, for the second year in a row - Budva justified their role as favorites against Vojvodina (9:6), which, however, did not have the strength to match the winner of the Montenegrin Cup.

Anyway, Budva has archived this group, on February 6th the draw for the second phase of the Euroleague is expected, and the ambitions are not small due to the fact that in the next round it cannot meet with Pro Rek, the only team in Europe (at least that's what the people of Budva think) with which is impossible to play at that stage of the Euroleague.

- We justified our role as favorites and showed that we are a better team than Vojvodina. From the very beginning, we knew what we wanted, we controlled the result, but it was clear that it didn't work out in certain moments, probably because of the importance of the game. So far, everything is going according to plan. We will not give up, we will look for a chance for better games, and if that is the case, the results will be better - said Budva coach Veselin Krivokapić.

The team from the metropolis of Montenegrin tourism celebrated last night in Novi Sad thanks to the right defense - they conceded the first goal only after 12 minutes (shot by Ranđić for 1:1). The guests, however, quickly put things back on track - Predrag Jokić scored two consecutive goals to give Budva their first serious escape in the game.

Until the end, the team from the Montenegrin metropolis of tourism played routinely, and Jokić (scored three goals, did a lion's job in defense) and Vjekoslav Pasković stood out.

- We gave the maximum, and Budva dictated the pace, which my young team could not follow. This is the reality, Budva is better, it is a serious team and it can rightfully expect a placement in the final four - said Vojvodina coach Dejan Stanojević.

Vojvodina - Budva M:tel 6:9 (0:1, 1:2, 2:3, 3:3)

Novi Sad - Swimming pool of SPC "Vojvodina". Spectators: 1.500. Referees: Savarese (Italy), Vasileiou (Greece). Player more: Vojvodina 7 (2), Budva M:tel 10 (5). Peterci: Vojvodina 1 (1).

Vojvodina: Marinković (five saves), Marić, M. Mitrović, Maksimović, Miličić 1, Vapenski 2 (1), Matović 1, Ovuka, Ranđić 2, Ubović, Basara, Vasić, V. Mitrović.

Budva M:tel: Šefik (11 saves), Petković 1, Bašić, Danilović, Ljubanović, Tičić 1, Pejaković, Pasković 3, Vukčević 1, Žanetić, Trbojević, Jokić 3, Bojd.

Draw on February 6

Three Croatian clubs (Mladost, Jug and Primorje), two Montenegrin clubs (Jadran and Budva M:tel), and Pro Reko, Partizan and Vašaš have placed in the eight best Euroleague teams. This year, the elite European competition is played in a different system - two groups of four teams will be formed, and the two first-placed teams will advance to the final four. Thus, it is possible that Jadran and Budva will meet in the group, and it is only certain that Novljani cannot get Vašaš as a rival in the draw, and Budva Pro Reko, because they were in the group with them. All other options are open...