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 James, Jayon 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 102 kg (225 lb) 24 – 28 February 1992 PG 7 Lalić, Nikola 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 27 – 4 January 1989 SG 8 Djoković, Nikola 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 27 – 27 January 1989 C 9 Perović, Marko 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 24 – 1 March 1992 SF 10 Bosković, Zdravko 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 20 – 10 October 1996 PF 11 Djurković, Marko 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 29 – 24 February 1987 SF 17 Gajović, Goran 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 28 – 9 March 1988 SG 18 Gorovanović, Igor 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 17 – 8 February 1999 PF 21 Vujović, Milos 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 20 – 16 January 1996 PG 23 Thomas, Dontay 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 32 – 12 January 1984 C 95 Šalić, Đoko 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 21 – 18 September 1995	Head coach Milos Kovać Assistant coach(es) 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

1. Vijesti: Senzacija: Košarkaši Sutjeske osvojili Kup! February 9, 2013
2. "Sutjeska and Union Olimpija confirmed as league members". ABA League. 10 September 2015.
3. http://www.kolektiv.me/21385/-Vojvode---ponos-grada-pod-Trebjesom
4. http://www.abaliga.com/a10311/News/Photo_of_the_round_Sharing_the_joy_with_fans_in_Niksic.html
5. http://ultrasliberi.hu/sutjeska-vs-buducnost/