Prva A Liga

The Prva A liga, for sponsorships reasons named the Erste Liga, is the top-tier professional basketball league in Montenegro. It is the highest basketball division organized by the Basketball Association of Montenegro (KSCG). It was established in 2006. shortly after Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia and Montenegro.

Prva A liga
Founded2006 (2006)
First season2006–07
Country Montenegro
ConfederationFIBA Europe
Number of teams12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toPrva B Liga
Current championsBudućnost (12th title)
Most championshipsBudućnost (12 titles)
CEOVeselin Brajovic
TV partnersRTCG
Websitewww.kscg.me
2018–19 Prva A liga

The league is sponsored by and named after Erste Bank. Currently, two clubs from the area are playing in the regional ABA League. The most successful club in the Prva A liga is Budućnost Podgorica, which has won 11 titles.

History

Before independence

During their history, many Montenegrin basketball clubs played in the top-tier competition of SFR Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. Among them are KK Budućnost Podgorica, KK Lovćen, KK Sutjeska, KK Mornar, KK Primorka, KK Berane, KK Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje and KK Temko Nikšić.

Period 1945-1991

In period from 1945 to 1991, while SFR Yugoslavia existed, in the First League played Berane (former name: Ivangrad) and Budućnost. Other Montenegrin clubs played in Second Yugoslav League (during the 80's - First 'B' League) and Republic League.
Budućnost played in the First League during the nine seasons, with third place on season 1985-86 as their biggest success at that time.
Below is the list of performances of Montenegrin clubs in SFRJ First League (1945-1991) with final placements on each season.[1]

Club66818283848586878891
Berane 12---------
Budućnost -881087391210

Period 1992-2006

After the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia, until the Montenegrin independence, eight different Montenegrin teams participated in the First League of FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro (YUBA League). Budućnost is the only team which played every single season in that competition, winning the three champion titles. Except them, Lovćen, Mornar, Sutjeska and Primorka are the only teams which participated in more than one season at the highest rank.
During that period, Budućnost became a founder of ABA League, too, where they play an important role until today. At the same time, Budućnost played its first seasons in Euroleague with the quarterfinals as their biggest success in the history of competition.
Below is the list of performances of Montenegrin clubs in YUBA League (1992-2006) with final placements on each season.[2]

Club929394959697989900010203040506
Budućnost 1010111624211124576
Lovćen -91014118699456818-
Mornar --71112714------129
Sutjeska ---8----12----16-
Jedinstvo ---15-----------
Berane ---27-----------
Temko ---29-----------
Primorka ----------11---17

As the most successful Montenegrin basketball team, Budućnost won three national titles in the First League of Yugoslavia.

Club Winners Runners-up Winning Years
KK Budućnost Podgorica
3
1
1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01

After independence

Soon after the Montenegrin independence referendum, Basketball Federation of Montenegro founded its own competitions, with the First League as a top-tier competition. During the all history, KK Budućnost was strongly dominant side.
Every season have two parts. During the first part, 8 to 10 clubs are playing league, without teams who are playing in ABA League. Until the season 2019-2020, in the second part, four best-placed teams from the league and two Montenegrin clubs from ABA League were competing in Superliga and four best-placed sides from that phase were participating in playoffs. Final series of playoffs is lasting until three wins of one opponent.
From season 2006-07 to 2016-17, every single champions' title won KK Budućnost. From 2006 to 2012, team from Podgorica created an impressive row of 89 wins with only one defeat in domestic championship. Except that, until 2015, team from Podgorica won every playoff final series with 3-0.
On season 2015-16, during the regular phase of the championship, game between KK Ulcinj and KK Jedinstvo finished with result 127-23. That was the biggest victory in the history of Montenegrin Championship. Except that, KK Ulcinj's player Miloš Popović on the same game scored 59 points, which is another all-time record of Montenegrin League.[3] An unexpected change came on season 2017-18, when KK Mornar won their first ever national title. In the finals, they surprisingly won the series against ABA League title holder - KK Budućnost (3-1).
Budućnost made a comeback on season 2018-19, defeating Mornar in the finals. During 2019, Montenegrin basketball federation implemented a new system of competition. Instead Superliga as the second phase, two best teams from the first part of season and two Montenegrin representatives in ABA League are directly qualifying for the playoff series.
Season 2019-20 was interrupted after 20 weeks, due to the coronavirus pandemic and Montenegrin basketball federation decided to erase every single result from that edition of competition.[4]

Champions

Since the establishing of competition, only two teams won the titles of Montenegrin champion. In 2018, Mornar was the second team to win the league after a streak of 11 consecutive trophies achieved by Budućnost.

Titles by season

Below is the list of final series of Montenegrin Basketball League playoffs.

SeasonChampionScoreRunner-upChampion's CoachPlayer of the season
2006–07Budućnost3–0Lovćen Dejan Radonjić Vladimir Micov (Budućnost)
2007–08Budućnost3–0Mogren Dejan Radonjić Nikola Otašević (Budućnost)
2008–09Budućnost3–0Primorje Dejan Radonjić Nikola Otašević (Budućnost)
2009–10Budućnost3–0Lovćen Dejan Radonjić Čedomir Vitkovac (Budućnost)
2010–11Budućnost3–0Mornar Dejan Radonjić Vladimir Dragičević (Budućnost)
2011–12Budućnost3–0Sutjeska Dejan Radonjić Bojan Dubljević (Budućnost)
2012–13Budućnost3–0Sutjeska Dejan Radonjić Aleksa Popović (Budućnost)
2013–14Budućnost3–0Zeta Igor Jovović Suad Šehović (Budućnost)
2014–15Budućnost3–1Sutjeska Igor Jovović J. R. Reynolds (Budućnost)
2015–16Budućnost3–1Mornar Igor Đaletić Julius Jenkins (Budućnost)
2016–17Budućnost3–2Mornar Igor Đaletić Nemanja Gordić (Budućnost)
2017–18Mornar3–1Budućnost Mihailo Pavićević Derek Needham (Mornar)
2018–19Budućnost3–2Mornar Petar Mijović
2019–20Canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic[5]

Montenegrin League

Below is a list of clubs with titles won in Montenegrin Basketball League.

ClubTitlesRunners-upYears Won
Budućnost1212007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
Mornar132018

Overall

Below is an overall list, with titles won in both leagues - Montenegrin Basketball League and FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro Championship.

ClubTitlesRunners-upYears Won
Budućnost1521998-99, 1999-00, 2000–01, from 2006-07 to 2016-17, 2018–19
Mornar142018

Performances by clubs

Final placements

Since establishing, in Montenegrin basketball league participated 20 different teams. Club which played every single season until now are KK Budućnost, KK Jedinstvo, KK Lovćen, KK Mornar and KK Ulcinj.

Club07080910111213141516171819
ABS Primorje -458979911----
Budućnost 1111111111121
Centar ------1111-----
Danilovgrad 564771010-91010910
Gorštak ---610--------
Ibar ------8757577
Jedinstvo 89910697888986
Lovćen 25723466106444
Ljubović ----11--------
Mornar 4863235242212
Mogren 72898--------
Podgorica -----8-------
Primorje 1945 -11211------11108
Rudar -1010----------
Studentski Centar ---------98119
Stršljen ---------11---
Sutjeska 6311--22523633
Teodo ---556343435-
Ulcinj 37344541075765
Zeta -------26---11

All-time table

All-time Montenegrin First League table is a ranking of all Montenegrin basketball clubs based on their performance in national top tier. Highlighted clubs played in the First League in the 2018/19 season.

Rank Club Town Seasonsa Gamesb W L Win%
1KK BudućnostPodgorica131991841593%
2KK MornarBar1334021612464%
3KK LovćenCetinje1336822314561%
4KK TeodoTivat925114610758%
5KK SutjeskaNikšić1129716413355%
6KK UlcinjUlcinj1335918917053%
7KK PodgoricaPodgorica124121250%
8KK IbarRožaje7171819047%
9KK MogrenBudva5137637446%
10KK ZetaGolubovci385384745%
11KK JedinstvoBijelo Polje1332512919640%
12KK DanilovgradDanilovgrad1229811818040%
13KK ABS PrimorjeHerceg Novi82097613336%
14KK Primorje 1945Herceg Novi61494610331%
15KK GorštakKolašin254153928%
16KK Studentski CentarPodgorica488276131%
17KK CentarBijelo Polje252124023%
18KK LjubovićPodgorica11831517%
19KK RudarPljevlja25274514%
20KK StršljenGusinje12432113%

^a Including current season (2018/19)
^b Playout games against teams from Prva B Liga are not counted

Attendances by season

Season Avg Overall M H CH CL
2006–07 562 64,700 115 2,500 Ulcinj (1,071) Nikšić (379)
2007–08 452 66,900 148 2,000 Ulcinj (736) Primorje 1945 (313)
2008–09 456 69,700 153 1,500 Ulcinj (1,006) Nikšić (257)
2009–10 493 75,400 153 2,000 Ulcinj (1,113) Primorje 1945 (271)
2010–11 497 70,600 142 1,700 Teodo (950) Ljubović (222)
2011–12 429 55,800 130 1,500 Teodo (692) Podgorica (131)
2012–13 514 78,150 152 2,500 Ulcinj (840) Primorje 1945 (214)
2013–14 426 64,800 152 1,500 Ibar (686) Centar (214)
2014–15 485 74,100 153 3,000 Ibar (1,086) Zeta (207)
2015–16 579 71,200 123 3,000 Ibar (1,050) S. Centar (127)
2016–17 497 62,200 125 3,000 Mornar (1,675) S. Centar (119)
2017–18 645 70,950 110 3,500 Mornar (1,487) S. Centar (106)
2018–19 569 75,100 132 3,000 Mornar (1,222) Zeta (108)
2019–20 Canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic

M = Number of matches (only matches with spectators counted); H = Highest attendance on one match; CH = Club with highest average attendance; CL = Club with lowest average attendance

Current season

Locations of the 2020–21 Prva A Liga teams

Competition format

Eleven of the fourteen teams that play the league join the regular season. After that phase, two best teams from the regular season are qualifying for the playoffs, where they play against the two 2020–21 ABA League teams (Budućnost Voli and Mornar).Except that, two best teams from regular season are qualifying for the next season of ABA 2 League. The last qualified team is relegated to Prva B Liga.[6]

Teams

Club City Arena Capacity
Budućnost VOLI Podgorica Morača 6,000
Danilovgrad Danilovgrad Gradska dvorana 1,200
Ibar Rožaje Bandžovo Brdo 2,500
Jedintsvo Bijelo Polje SC Nikoljac 3,000
Lovćen Cetinje SRC Lovćen 1,500
Mornar Bar Topolica 3,500
Pljevlja Pljevlja SC Ada 3,000
Podgorica Podgorica Bemax Arena 2,000
Primorje Herceg Novi SC Igalo 2,000
Studenski centar Podgorica University Sports Center 1,500
Sutjeska Nikšić Nikšić Sports Center 3,000
All Star Spuž Academy Danilovgrad 600
Teodo Tivat Župa SC 1,500
Zeta Golubovci House of basketball 500

Montenegrin basketball clubs in ABA League

Clubs from Montenegrin League are permanent participants of ABA League, one of strongest team competitions in Europe. In 2001, one of founders was Montenegrin side Budućnost Podgorica, which is among most successful members of competition. Except Budućnost, in ABA League played three other clubs from Montenegro - Lovćen, Sutjeska and Mornar.
KK Budućnost won ABA champions’ title on season 2017-18, which is the most significant success of Montenegrin clubs in that competition until now.
Except that, Budućnost was a finalist on season 2018-19 and played seven times in semifinals (five times lost the game or series), while Mornar played once in that phase of playoffs.
Below is list of participation of Montenegrin clubs by every season of ABA League.

Season Club Pos P W L Note
2001–02 Budućnost Podgorica 9 22 9 13
2003–04 Budućnost Podgorica 5 26 16 10
Lovćen Cetinje 14 26 5 21 Relegated
2004–05 Budućnost Podgorica 14 30 9 21 Relegated
2006–07 Budućnost Podgorica 5 26 16 10
2007–08 Budućnost Podgorica 6 29 16 13 Playoffs: Quarterfinals
2008–09 Budućnost Podgorica 6 26 15 11
2009–10 Budućnost Podgorica 5 26 15 11
2010–11 Budućnost Podgorica 4 27 15 12 Final four: Semifinals
2011–12 Budućnost Podgorica 4 27 18 9 Final four: Semifinals
2012–13 Budućnost Podgorica 5 26 16 10
2013–14 Budućnost Podgorica 5 26 15 11
2014–15 Budućnost Podgorica 3 31 21 10 Playoffs: Semifinals
2015–16 Budućnost Podgorica 3 28 23 5 Playoffs: Semifinals
Sutjeska Nikšić 13 26 9 17 Relegated
2016–17 Budućnost Podgorica 4 29 19 10 Playoffs: Semifinals
Mornar Bar 8 26 10 16
2017–18 Budućnost Podgorica 1 29 22 7 Playoffs: Champions
Mornar Bar 4 25 15 10 Playoffs: Semifinals
2018–19 Budućnost Podgorica 2 30 20 10 Playoffs: Finals
Mornar Bar 9 22 8 14

European competitions

A EuroCup home game of Budućnost Podgorica, which represents Montenegro each season

Clubs from Montenegro have been playing in European basketball competitions since the 1980s. Until 2006, they represented SFR Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia. Almost all European seasons by Montenegrin clubs are played by KK Budućnost. Exceptions are three seasons played by KK Mornar Bar and one European performance by KK Lovćen Cetinje.

The most successful period was the end of the 1990s and the beginning of new century. At that time, KK Budućnost played in the finish phases of EuroLeague. In that period, Budućnost often played games against greatest European basketball teams like FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Budućnost made their comeback to Euroleague on season 2018-19, with few impressive results as wins against CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

During the overall history, three different Montenegrin clubs played in FIBA/ULEB competitions. KK Budućnost played in numerous competitions (Euroleague, Eurocup/ULEB Cup, Saporta Cup/FIBA EuroCup, FIBA Korać Cup). KK Mornar played in ULEB EuroCup, Basketball Champions League and FIBA Europe Cup, while KK Lovćen played one season in FIBA Korać Cup.

Records

As of the end of FIBA/ULEB competitions 2019–20 season.

Team Seasons First Last G W L
KK Budućnost Podgorica
23
1986-87
2019-20
285
107
178
KK Mornar Bar
4
2016-17
2019-20
58
19
39
KK Lovćen Cetinje
1
1998-99
1998-99
6
1
5

See also

References

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