Jadran Herceg Novi continued its domination in the Montenegrin Championships. The Herceg Novi team won its ninth consecutive title as the national champion, beating Primorac in the final (3:0 in the wins).
Jadran has been the champion of Montenegro 12 times, and besides that, it won 6 titles in the national leagues of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro.
2023 Montenegrin Championships, Playoffs, Final (best of five), Match 3
Jadran HN – Primorac 10:4 (3:2, 2:2, 4:0, 1:0) – score in the final 3:0
Jadran: Djurovic, Khalturin 2, Vucurovic 1, Vukicevic 1, Vujovic, Da. Radovic 3, Stupar, Gardasevic 1, Dj. Radovic, Sladovic, Caraj 1, V. Radović, I. Radović, Muscat 1. Head coach: Gojkovic.
Primorac Kotor: Kralj, Vuckovic, Mrsic 1, Gopcevic, Macic, Vukasovic, Paunovic 1, Gardasevic 1, Stanojevic 1, Vujosevic, Janovic, Bastrica, Mandic, Perov. Head coach: Perovic.
The final series was opened with Jadran’s convincing 11:5 win in the first match, played in Herceg Novi. The old-new champion beat Primorac in Kotor by two goals (10:8), so it had the first “match ball” in front of its fans in the “Skver ” pool today. Jadran didn’t let Primorac prolong the final and clinched its 18th title in the national championships.
Jadran led most of the time, but until the middle break, the rivals were in a neck-and-neck race. Primorac never took the lead, but it leveled the score at 1:1, and 2:2. Jadran, led by Danilo Radovic, built a 3-goal advantage early in the second quarter (5:2). The Kotor-based side cut the deficit to 4:5. In the following minutes both teams missed a few chances, including two man-ups on each end of the pool, so only a goal separated the rivals before the third period. But, after the middle break, Jadran ruled the field in the third quarter. The hosts jumped to a 9:4 and everything was decided. Primorac, which missed a penalty shot in this quarter, had to settle for the silver medal. Jadran added one more goal in the fourth quarter for a more convincing victory.
Jadran defeated Budva in both finals in Montenegro this season. The team from Herceg Novi defeated Primorac 10:6 in the final of the Montenegrin CUp in December in Podgorica.
The final standings of the 2023 Montenegrin Championships: 1. Jadran HN, 2. Primorac, 3. Budva, 4. Cattaro.
All champions: 2007 and 2008: Primorac, 2009 and 2010: Jadran, 2011: Budva, 2012: Jadran, 2013: Budva, 2014 – 2019 (6 titles): Jadran, 2020: season canceled, 2021: Jadran, 2022: Jadran, 2023: Jadran.
