Buducnost Voli Podgorica clings to ABA League lead

Buducnost Voli Podgorica could lose sole possession of first place in the Adriatic League (ABA) this weekend after the club picked up just its second loss of the season. Fifth-placed Zadar did the damage to the leaders with a 78-69 home win in Croatia. The loss means Budunost Voil Podgorica is now at 10-2, still alone at the top of the standings today.

However, current three-peat champs Crvena Zvezda Belgrade can equal that record if it beats Mornar Bar tonight. Despite being on the road, the EuroLeague team is expected to collect that win. Despite that, Buducnost Voli Podgorica will stay atop the standings (albeit in a tie) because it defeated Crvena Zvezda Belgrade.

The worry for Buducnost is that Crvena Zvezda is starting to get back to its flying best. After two uncharacteristic losses earlier in the season, the Serbian champs have looked good, including two 100+ point blowouts against Cedevita Zagreb and arch rival Partizan NIS Belgrade. Crvena Zvezda is also finally finding form in the EuroLeague.

So, it Buducnost wants to win the Adriatic League regular season and enter the Play-Offs as the best team, it will need a second half of the season as good as the first. We are moving to the business end of the campaign and the pressure will be on.

In the game against Zadar, Buducnost struggled to get going in the first half. The slow start allowed the hosts to steal the first quarter 17-15 and stretch ahead with a 19-11 second frame. During the long break, the scoreboard read 36-26 to Zadar and that first half did the damage. Buducnost fought back with an 18-25 third act, but Zadar retook the momentum in the fourth quarter and settled the game.

Josh Bostic drained 20 points in the win, while Domagoj Vukovic managed 19 points.

Kyle Gibson paced the losing effort with a game-high 21 points.