The history has been made even though the dual event in Belgrade was only partially successful for the water polo team of Budućnost. Nevertheless, the tally of victories and defeats is quite encouraging considering the stage at which Aleksandar Aleksić’s team currently finds itself.

The team from Podgorica is new to the regional A1 competition, marking their debut season in senior play. They kicked off the season by indicating that it wouldn’t be an easy task for the favorites—starting with a narrow loss to Vukovo at 10:9, followed by a convincing victory over Zemun with a score of 13:9 at the “11. April” pool.

Things might have taken a different turn in that initial match, but Budućnost returned with valuable insights from the Serbian capital. The coaching staff was able to identify both strengths and weaknesses, along with areas for improvement to ensure that Budućnost remains competitive against all opponents.

“We regret the game against Vukov, which we lost primarily due to our mistakes; we didn’t execute well when it was crucial,” expressed Budućnost’s center Neđo Baštrica.

The match against Zemun remained close until early in the third quarter when Budućnost pulled ahead by three goals. Heading into the final period, they held a comfortable lead of 12:6, effectively resolving the question of the victor.

“We started the game a bit sluggishly, but we found our rhythm in the second half and managed to see the game through. We are disappointed about the Vukov game, as we felt we defeated ourselves in a way, but the season is lengthy—we have a lot of room for growth and I believe we will improve as the season progresses,” Baštrica noted.

In the match against Zemun, the Montenegrin side was led by David Stevović, who netted four goals, while Mlađan Janović contributed three, and Petar Brnović scored two, with Neđo Baštrica, Danilo Savović, Matija Brguljan, and Marko Bošković each adding one goal.

Stevović was also the standout in the loss against Vukov, scoring three goals. Additionally, Bošković (two goals), Janović, Baštrica, Goran Grgurević, and Igor Uskoković also found the back of the net.

Budućnost’s next matchup in the A1 league is scheduled for October 23, where they will face off against Kataro in the Montenegrin derby at the SC “Morača” pool.

Kotor began the season with two losses (against Vukovo and Zemun), while another representative from our region, Budva, lost 12:10 to Zadar in the opening round.

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