Budva produced one of the shocks of the Montenegrin water polo season, knocking out Primorac Kotor to book their place in the championship final against Jadran Herceg Novi.
The result means Jadran and Budva will now contest the title, with the final series played over best-of-five. Jadran will have home-pool advantage, while Primorac are left to reflect on a painful semi-final exit that also costs them a place in next season’s Champions League.
Budva had taken control of the tie with a stunning 18-9 victory in the opening match at home. Under the competition rules, Primorac needed to win the return match in Kotor to force penalties — and they did exactly that, claiming a 21-15 victory in a high-scoring second leg.
But the shootout belonged to Budva.
Đuro Radović was denied by Dragoljub Ćetković, while every other penalty taker found the net. That single save proved decisive, sparking huge celebrations for Budva and leaving Primorac stunned after a campaign in which they had been targeting the title.
For Primorac, Balša Vučković led the scoring with five goals, while Marko Mršić added four. Jusuke Inaba and Đuro Radović scored three each, Marko Petković and Petar Ćetković both struck twice, and Tim Perov added one.
Budva’s goals came from Nenad Dragović and Nebojša Vušković, who scored four apiece, while Matija Brguljan, Srđan Baucalo, Todor Vukčević, Neđo Baštrica, Matija Franeta and Vladan Vukčević also found the net. Goalkeeper Ćetković, however, was the hero of the night.
Jadran, meanwhile, progressed in far more comfortable fashion against Budućnost. Vladimir Gojković’s side won the first match in Podgorica 23-9, before completing the job at Škver with a 19-8 victory.
Vasilije Radović and Strahinja Gojković scored four each for Jadran in the second match, with Danil Merkulov and Matija Sladović adding three apiece. Srđan Janović scored twice, while Danilo Stupar, Jovan Vujović and Stefan Vraneš also got on the scoresheet.
For Budućnost, Darko Brguljan and Petar Vujošević scored three each, with Nikola Strkalj and Sando Adeišvili adding one apiece.
The champion of Montenegro will qualify directly for the Champions League group stage, while the runner-up will enter Champions League qualifying with a guaranteed Euro Cup place. Primorac will now face Budućnost in the third-place series, with the winner earning a place in the Euro Cup group stage.
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