ŽOK Luka BAR secure ninth Montenegrin national league title in a row

ŽOK Luka BAR are the women’s national champions of Montenegro for the ninth time in a row! In the fifth round of a truly dramatic championship series, played without any spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic, the team coached by Vladimir Milačić defeated their greatest rival and national cup winners OK GALEB 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-10, 25-15). The champions showed that they are able to deliver when it really matters, and they did not give up even when the rivals equalised in the series bringing it to two wins apiece, thus deserving yet another title.

“I would like to congratulate OK GALEB on such a good championship series, a fair and sportive fight. The final series was extremely demanding and good to watch, and I believe that all Volleyball fans could enjoy it. I would like to thank my girls for their good work, my assistant Blažo Dobrković for his good, honest and responsible work, and Professor Labović for the physical preparation. That was very important to us, and it was obvious in the fifth game that we were physically well prepared. If there are any merits of mine, I have to share them with President Nenad Vujanović, who saved this club in a very difficult time. I do not think these kids even know it, but we are mostly here because of his great abilities to save this club. I take this opportunity to thank our sponsor Luka Bar, and the management of Luka Bar for their help,” said Milačić, who is the man behind all of the successes achieved by the team.

In a great, spectacular finale, only the audience was missing. “The fans, of course, were not there, not only for us but for everyone. I have to say that both OK GALEB and we had problems with injuries of important girls, and our rosters suffered a few times the absence of key players since January due to COVID-19 infections, but that seems to be an integral part of life these days. We hope that this will soon end.”

Summarising his impressions of the entire season, Milačić says, “I am speaking from the perspective of a coach, but also as someone who has been in the club for a very long time. Before the season, we were afraid of what it would look like, since many girls had left. I have to say that Tamara Kovačević returned after a five-year break, because she felt that she needed to help the club. We played the Cup final and lost it, and we won the playoff finals and I am really very, very happy.”

The President of the Volleyball Federation of Montenegro (OSCG), Cvetko Pajković, presented the trophy to the players of ŽOK Luka BAR. Nenad Vujanović, a member of the OSCG Management Board, awarded the players of ŽOK Luka BAR with the gold medals. Ivan Bošković, OSCG Secretary General, presented the silver medals to the runners-up of the competition.

Despite the defeat in the championship, OK GALEB coach Nikola Masoničić has many reasons for satisfaction. His team won the Cup, finished the regular season of the league in first place, delivered great games in the finals, although in as many as four of the five matches he was practically without the help of their best player, Nevena Vukčević. “I would like to congratulate the team of ŽOK Luka BAR on a well-deserved title. They showed that they are the better team. With all the injuries that we had from the beginning of the playoffs, I do not think we could have done it any better. I am satisfied with the season, especially with winning the Cup, and I am satisfied with the playoff finals too. I have nothing to complain about the girls or anyone. We are moving forward and we have planned further actions for the future. One beautiful season is behind us,” said Masoničić, coach of OK GALEB and head coach of the women's national team of Montenegro as well.