MainMontenegro

Players and coaches of the year awarded in Montenegro

by Press
written by Press

The Volleyball Federation of Montenegro (OSCG) recently presented awards to the most successful individuals (players and coaches) of 2023. 

At the ceremony held at the VOCO Hotel in Podgorica, Benjamin Hadžisalihović received the award for the best male player in the domestic championship for the past year, while the prize for the most promising male player in 2023 was claimed by the youngest member of the senior national team of Montenegro, Nikola Đurović.

Benjamin Hadžisalihović and OSCG President Cvetko Pajković

Hadžisalihović played a prominent role as OK BUDVA secured a clean sweep of the domestic competitions, while leading them to the top of the EPCG Super League by the end of 2023. Moreover, the team performed well on the European stage too. Đurović was the youngest member of the Montenegrin national team at this year’s EuroVolley Men in Skopje. He is also a member of the U19 and U22 national teams, as well as of the Bjelo Polje-based team Jedinstvo. The two awards were presented by the OSCG President, Cvetko Pajković.

Nikola Đurović and OSCG President Cvetko Pajković

The most promising female player in Montenegro this year is Kristina Božović, who is one of the top players in the EPCG Super League in the current season. The award for the opposite hitter of Luka BAR was presented by the newly elected President of the OSCG Assembly, Milan Franović.

Kristina Božović and Milan Franović, newly elected President of the OSCG Assembly

The award for the best men’s coach in domestic competitions was claimed by Miljan Bošković. He concluded the previous season as the head coach of Budućnost Volley and commenced the current one at the helm of OK Budva, leading them through highly competitive matches in the qualifications for the elite CEV Champions League and in the CEV Cup as well. Budva emerged as the leaders at the end of the calendar year in the EPCG Super League and has secured a spot in the semi-finals of the Montenegrin Cup. Bošković is also the head coach of the U22 men’s national team and was a member of the staff of the senior national team at EuroVolley. The award was presented by OSCG Secretary General, Ivan Bošković.

Miljan Bošković and OSCG Secretary General Ivan Bošković

The prize for the best women’s coach in 2023 has gone to Vladimir Milačić, the long-standing head coach of Luka BAR. Milačić guided the ‘Sirenas’ to a second-place finish in the last edition of the national league, a position the Bar team maintained at the end of the first half of the ongoing championship. Additionally, Luka BAR has reached the semi-finals of the Montenegrin Cup. The award was presented to the former head coach of the senior women’s national team by the outgoing President of the OSCG Assembly, Zoran Vukčević.

Vladimir Milačić and Zoran Vukčević, outgoing President of the OSCG Assembly

The best male player competing abroad is the opposite hitter for the national team and Slovenia’s Triglav KRANJ, Đorđe Jovović. He was the top scorer in the last edition of the Slovenian national league and leads in points and serves in the current campaign as well. The best female player performing abroad is Mina Dragović, a middle blocker for the senior national team and Jedinstvo STARA PAZOVA in Serbia. She was part of the team that secured fourth place in the 2023 CEV Silver League.

The most successful female player in the domestic championship in 2023 is the former captain of the Montenegrin national team and OK Herceg Novi, Tatjana Bokan, now a member of Egypt’s Al Ahli. This past season, she helped OK Herceg Novi to a historic double domestic crown.

Due to their club commitments, they were unable to attend the ceremony in the Montenegrin capital, and the awards will be presented at a later stage.

The year 2023 was very interesting and challenging for Montenegro’s Volleyball family.

The men’s senior national team competed in their third consecutive European Championship, participating in the group stage contested in North Macedonia. Meanwhile, there was notable progress made by the senior women’s team, who, as group leaders, qualified for the Final Four tournament of the CEV Silver League and eventually secured fourth place.

The U17 men’s team competed in the European Championship, which was held in Montenegro, with participation of as many as 16 of Europe’s best teams. Volleyball fans in Podgorica witnessed the emergence of the future stars of the sport. Throughout the year, youth and junior teams from Montenegro competed in various age categories in their respective Balkan championships too.

The OSCG successfully delivered the second year of the ‘Free Volleyball School’ project, promoting Volleyball in schools across the country since this past September. The seventh season of the EKO Mini Volleyball is underway. It has gathered a record number of participants – 900 children aged nine to 13 are involved in the most extensive sports project for children in Montenegro.

0 comments
FacebookTwitterWhatsappTelegramViber
FIVBMainTürkiye

Turkish Eczacibasi on top of the world

by Press
written by Press

Türkiye’s Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul are the 2023 club champions of the world! They emerged victorious from a five-set battle against archrivals VakifBank Spor Kulubu of Istanbul in the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship final in Hangzhou to claim their third world title, after 2015 and 2016, and their sixth overall medal. Four-time champions VakifBank’s silver placed them on their ninth Club World Championship podium. The bronze medals went to Chinese hosts Tianjin Bohai Bank, their first podium in the competition after three participations.

Eczacibasi Dynavit persevered through a five-set saga in Sunday’s gold medal match to defeat VakifBank Spor Kulubu by a thrilling 3:2 (19:25, 25:23, 25:23, 23:25, 15:9) and return to the throne.

VakifBank were well in control throughout the first set and took it by a wide margin. Their domination was extended into the second set and they broke away with a lead as wide as eight points at 12-4, but then Eczacibasi worked their way back, caught up at 20-20 and went on to claim the set by 25-23. The third set offered a fierce and even battle. The lead changed hands several times before Eczacibasi again emerged with a narrow 25-23 win to edge forward in the match. Set four was not much different, but it was VakifBank that were ahead in the score for the most part, with Eczacibasi taking over occasionally. In the end, the set was once again decided by the narrowest of margins, but VakifBank’s way, to prompt a tie-breaker. Powered by their Generation O star Tijana Boskovic and Canadian outside Alexa Gray, Eczacibasi took an early lead in the fifth set and never let go. The Serbian striker hammered the 15-9 match winner with a block-out swing to get the title celebrations underway.

The even duel on the court resulted in mixed overall statistics. VakifBank outblocked (16-14 in stuffs) their opponents and committed fewer unforced errors (16-24), while the winners prevailed in offence (73-63 in spike kills) and in serving (4-2 in aces). Tijana Boskovic led Eczacibasi to victory with 27 points to her name. Her tally included one ace and one block. Outside hitter Hande Baladin contributed another 20 points, while Alexa Gray and middle blocker Sinead Jack finished with 17 and 12 points, respectively. VakifBank’s opposite Jordan Thompson topped the match chart with as many as 33 points, also including one ace and one block. Chiaka Ogbogu and captain Gabriela Guimaraes scored 16 points each for VakifBank.

0 comments
FacebookTwitterWhatsappTelegramViber
Montenegro

Best players and coaches of 2023 voted in Montenegro

by Press
written by Press

After votes were cast by clubs, members of the Board of Directors as well as of the Coaching Commission of the Volleyball Federation of Montenegro (OSCG), the best and most promising volleyball players and the best coaches of the Balkan country for 2023 were eventually identified earlier this month.

Benjamin Hadžisalihović, who plays for OK Budva, has emerged as the best male player from domestic competitions. Hadžisalihović is a member of the Montenegrin men’s senior national team and has shown remarkable performances both in the domestic championship and in European competitions while playing for OK Budva. Hadžisalihović received seven votes, while competing for this recognition alongside Bojan Strugar (Budućnost volley / Milas Belediye Türkiye, 4 votes), Stefan Radević (Budućnost volley, 3 votes), and Matija Ćinćur (OK Budva).

On the other hand, moving to male players competing abroad, Đorđe Jovović, who has been competing in Slovenia for OK Triglav Kranj, has seized the relevant prize. Jovović participated with the senior national team in the 2023 edition of the CEV European Championship. In the 2022/2023 season, he was the top scorer in the Slovenian championship with as many as 525 points. As Triglav’s opposite, he has been performing in an impressive way this season as well, currently topping the scoring charts with 238 points scored and he is the best server as well with 23 aces in 11 rounds. Jovović won 10 votes, while Vojin Ćaćić (Al Faisali, Saudi Arabia) received four. The other competitors in contention were Marko Bojić (Al Jazeera, UAE) and Jovan Delić (Maccabi, Israel).

Nikola Đurović, a member of Jedinstvo, has claimed the award for the most promising player. At seventeen years old, Đurović was the youngest member of the senior national team of Montenegro at EuroVolley 2023. Moreover, he played with the U22 national team at the qualifiers for next year’s European Championship held this past summer in Italy. In the 2022/2023 season, Đurović was recognised as the best middle blocker in the age-group domestic championships of Montenegro. Đurović received 9 votes, while competing for the award against Luka Lojić (Budućnost volley, 4 votes) and Lazar Cimbaljević (Jedinstvo, 1 vote).

Miljan Bošković has been selected as the best coach in men’s domestic competitions for 2023. This past season, Bošković coached the Podgorica-based team Budućnost Volley, leading them to the runner-up position in the national league and in the national cup as well. He also guided the U22 national team in the European Championship qualifiers and was a member of the coaching staff for the men’s senior national team too. With 12 votes, Bošković secured the award edging Darko Prebiračević (2 votes) and Miloš Marković.

Tatjana Bokan will receive the prize for the best female player across domestic competitions for the year 2023. She represented the club OK Herceg Novi in the past season. Bokan celebrated a double crown in the 2022/2023 season and was chosen as the MVP of the National Cup final match. Bokan received 13 votes, thereby outclassing Teodora Čavić (Galeb Liko Soho Group, 2 votes) and Melisa Cenović (OK Herceg Novi).

Mina Dragović, who plays in Serbia for Jedinstvo Stara Pazova, is the best female player competing abroad. In the past season, Dragović, playing for Jedinstvo, became the national champion of Serbia, contributing significantly to her team’s success. She also delivered impressive performances with the senior national team of Montenegro in the CEV European Silver League, where Montenegro reached the Final Four tournament held in Austria. Dragović received 16 votes, while Danijela Džaković (Assitec, Italy / Tarnow, Poland) got five. The other competitors in contention for the award were Katarina Budrak (Bordeaux / Volley-Ball de Romans, France) and Dijana Vuković (CSO Voluntari 2005, Romania / OK Herceg Novi).

Kristina Božović, who plays for Luka Bar, is the recipient of the award for the most promising female player. As an opposite of Luka Bar, Božović consistently delivers impressive performances and frequently emerges as the top scorer in the domestic championship – the EPCG Super League. She is a member of the U19 and U21 national teams of Montenegro, and she represented her country at the Balkan Championships held last summer in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria, respectively. Božović secured eight votes, while Darja Popović (Budućnost volley) and Anastasija Bogojević (Morača) each received four. Gordana Madžgalj (Jedinstvo) received two votes, and Lana Rakočević (Budućnost volley) claimed one.

Vladimir Milačić, the coach of Luka Bar, is the top women’s coach across all domestic competitions held in 2023. Milačić guided the team from Bar to a second-place finish in the league phase of the national championship with a record of 15 wins and three losses. He received seven votes, while Mladen Miladinović (Jedinstvo) and Milan Marković (Akademija) claimed six apiece. Petar Koković (Galeb Liko Soho Group) received two votes.

0 comments
FacebookTwitterWhatsappTelegramViber
MainNorth Macedonia

Numbers keep on growing for CEV School Project in North Macedonia

by Press
written by Press

This past month, the Volleyball Federation of North Macedonia ran activities in conjunction with the CEV School Project ‘Play Volleyball – Grow with it’ in Bitola and Skopje.

In Bitola, more than 30 children participated in a volleyball class organised as an extracurricular activity together with the local physical education teacher and the coaches from the VC Pelister Volley. Volleyball is currently on the rise in Bitola in terms of number of children interested in playing the game, which is growing year by year.

The project continues in a few elementary schools, and there are plans to expand it even to additional ones. In Skopje, at the primary school named after Jan Amos Komenski, the Fit Fan Volley volleyball club delivered a class attended by 20 children aged seven to nine. Fit Fan Volley is one of the latest clubs to join the CEV School Project and for now, they are doing it very successfully in terms of activities, number of children, and cooperation with local schools.

As for December, there are plans to hold activities and competitions to coincide with the end of the first quarter of the current school year.

0 comments
FacebookTwitterWhatsappTelegramViber
Newer Posts
Older Posts