KK Sutjeska

KK Sutjeska
Nickname Plavi
Leagues Montenegrin League
Balkan League
Founded 1948
Arena Nikšić Sports Center
(capacity: 3,000)
Location Nikšić, Montenegro
Team colors Blue and White
         
Championships 1 Montenegrin Cups
Uniforms
Home
Away
Active sport clubs of Sutjeska
Football Basketball Volleyball
Handball Athletics Shooting
Judo Handball Women Boxing
Tennis

KK Sutjeska is a professional basketball club from Nikšić, Montenegro. The team currently competes in Montenegrin Basketball League and regional Adriatic League. The club was the champion of the Montenegrin Basketball Cup in 2013.

History

KK Sutjeska was established in 1948. The first basic basketball elements given to the youth of Nikšić were brought by Vojislav Spasojević, a basketball coach from Belgrade. Immediately after the initiative was taken, Vule Vukalović joined the team's administrative team along with the help of international referee Dragan Jakšić—and a serious basketball team began to take form.

The first competition in which KK Sutjeska participated in was in 1950, in a Montenegro-wide championship held in Cetinje, where Sutjeska beat Jedinstvo 24-20.

In 1955, KK Sutjeska changed its name to "KK Nikšić". The name didn't last long—in 1957 the name was changed yet again, this time to "KK Partizan Nikšić". In 1962 the name was changed to "KK Mladost". That year in the regional championship of Montenegro, six teams competed and in the end it was actually KK Mladost who became champions—without a single lost match. The players that represented KK Mladost in 1962 included names such as Burić, Plamenac, Gvozdenović, Šturanović, Krstajić, Jovović, Zeković, Mijatović, Baletić, Filipovski, Vušurović i Nikolić.

In 1966 KK Mladost changed its name back to "KK Sutjeska", but in 1970 the name was changed again to "KK Partizan". Finally, in 1974, the team changed its name from Partizan to KK Sutjeska without taking away the Sutjeska name until 2003, when the club was known under a couple of names up until 2010. In 2010 the club was registered back to the traditional name of "KK Sutjeska".

2013: Champions of the Montenegrin Basketball Cup

On February 9, 2013, in the final match of the Montenegrin Basketball Cup, KK Sutjeska sensationally beat long-time rivals KK Budućnost Podgorica by the score of 64–55. It was the first time in the history of the competition since Montenegro's independence in 2006 that KK Budućnost didn't win a trophy.[1]

On September 10, 2015, Sutjeska was admitted in the 2015–16 ABA League.[2] This will be the first time it will play the Regional competition.

Current roster

KK Sutjeska roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Age
SF 3 United States James, Jayon 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 102 kg (225 lb) 24 – (1992-02-28)28 February 1992
PG 7 Montenegro Lalić, Nikola 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 27 – (1989-01-04)4 January 1989
SG 8 Montenegro Djoković, Nikola 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 27 – (1989-01-27)27 January 1989
C 9 Montenegro Perović, Marko 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 24 – (1992-03-01)1 March 1992
SF 10 Montenegro Bosković, Zdravko 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 20 – (1996-10-10)10 October 1996
PF 11 Serbia Djurković, Marko 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 29 – (1987-02-24)24 February 1987
SF 17 Montenegro Gajović, Goran 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 28 – (1988-03-09)9 March 1988
SG 18 Montenegro Gorovanović, Igor 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 17 – (1999-02-08)8 February 1999
PF 21 Montenegro Vujović, Milos 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 20 – (1996-01-16)16 January 1996
PG 23 United States Thomas, Dontay 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 32 – (1984-01-12)12 January 1984
C 95 Serbia Šalić, Đoko 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 21 – (1995-09-18)18 September 1995
Head coach
  • Montenegro Milos Kovać
Assistant coach(es)
  • Serbia Vladimir Todorović

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C Đoko Šalić Marko Perović
PF Marko Djurković Milos Vujović
SF Goran Gajović Jayon James Zdravko Bosković
SG Nikola Lalić Nikola Djoković
PG Dontay Thomas Ilija Gavranović

Supporters and rivalries

"The Dukes" (Vojvode) is the popular name for the most ardent Sutjeska fans. They have been established as an NGO in 1988 in Nikšić and today constitute one of the most numerous groups of supporters in Montenegro.[3] They traditionally follow all the matches of all sports that compete under the “Sutjeska” name, both home and away matches.[4] The biggest Sutjeska rival is KK Budućnost Podgorica, as the "Barbarians" (Varvari) are the other large group of supporters in the country.[5]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.