OK Partizan - Crvena Zvezda 3:2 (play-off, semifinal, 4th match)

My goodness, WHAT A GAME IT WAS.

Every single TV-channel earned the jackpot of "going to hell" for not broadcasting it.

It was a battle of two giants. Two hordes of enraged wild elephants clashed and fought until the last breath.
We brought back this game from the grave twice. Zvezda had match ball twice at the end. We could switch it back twice.
We simply couldn’t lose this game.
Even though it looked so more than once during the game that all we could do here is to die with glory, because laurels don’t seem to have black and white colours.
And still.
Zvezda won the first set. We fought hard, we were even leading (21:20), but finally Zvezda squeezed out the victory. It wasn’t an easy game for them tough, we made it as hard for them as possible, ending it to 24:26.
For the second set there are no words. The second set mirrored the entire game, but probably also Partizan’s entire season so far.
In the second set Zvezda made a brutal advantage. 8:12, 10:16, 15:21. Average Fan started to make a slipknot on the nearest available rope to make all these sufferings to a quick end.
Then Partizan had an awesome resurrection.
19:21.
Kostić was the embodiment of the Steam Roller. Compared to this game when I was grumbling a bit because of him, this time Ivan Kostić washed up the floor of Vizura sports hall with the red team. He achieved 8 aces (!!!!!) during the match. So now you raise yourself up, stand straight and salute for the Captain.

(photo: mondo.rs)

There was no stop. We switched from 15:21 to 26:24. It’s not simply a world class performance, but something we will remember even after years.
Then came the third set.
Zvezda took the lead. Not much, just with 1-2 points. At a period it looked like a ping-pong game, one point here, draw, one point there. Then it seemed that Zvezda had it on the long wind. (14:16)
But they didn’t know that we have a Buša, a Pantić and a Veličković.
And the whole team has the biggest heart.
The three youngsters swept off Zvezda in a great teamwork. Partizan switched from 14:16 to 21:20. Zvezda tried to keep the pace, they always equalized, chasing us, being behind us with only one point. They wanted this set to be won, as the starving wants a piece of bread. They still failed. After a great battle we won this part to 26:24.
For the fourth set Partizan probably ran out a bit from fresh air. Zvezda won it to 20:25. We didn’t make the favour for them though to provide them an easy win. We strangled them by the throat, but still they picked themselves together for the end and pressured out the victory. 2:2, tie-break.
That was one unbelievable drama.
We took the lead. Then Zvezda equalized to 6:6. Never mind, we took back the lead, with self-confidence and 10:8.
Zvezda came back, equalized and took the lead again (11:12). Nobody knows what kind of secret power supplements they had, but they wanted to win by all means, because if they could have done so, they would have qualified to the final.
For a while it seemed they would really do it. They were leading to 11:14. The next service was the match ball for them.
BUT PARTIZAN COULD SWITCH BACK EVEN FROM HERE!!!
Unbelievable. U-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e. I wanted to die a few times while watching the live score page. We came back slowly, step by step. The team had a superhuman performance. We equalized. What is more, we took the lead back to 15:14. Zveza equalized, we took back the lead once again. Average Fan was wet from sweat. 16:16. It’s just impossible. COME ON, BOYS, COME ON, FOR GOD’S SAKE!!!
17:16
Pale face, fingers go white as the hand is clenched. Come on, boys!... Come on!...
18:16!!!!
WE WON!!!!!
My mighty God. We won. We won a marching victory with a wonderful game, by putting our heart and soul out to the court of the sports hall. A totally well-deserved victory.
Next (and last) game comes on Monday 18th from 18:00. One last victory and we qualify to the final.

Dr. Dimitrije Pantić has his consulting hours from 0:1 to 3:2

(photo: mozzartsport.com)

The best receivers: Kostić, Lopar and Veličković (in the background Buša and Pantić are watching)

(photo: zurnal.rs)

OK Partizan: Buša (26 - 1 ace), Pantić (16 - 4 aces), Nedeljković Žugić, Lopar (10 - 1 ace), Kostić (11 - 8 aces), Rajković (libero), Jokanović, Veličković (15), Polomac (7), Popović, Perišić
Head coach: Vladimir Vasović

Crvena Zvezda: Okolić (12), Jevtić (libero), Đurđević, Skrbić, Gmitrović (13), Milutinović (6), Jakovljević (19 - 1 ace), Stojsavljević (16), Munćan (2), Blagojević (7), Veljović, Buculjević (4 - 2 aces)
Head coach: Dragan Kobiljski

Crvena Zvezda - OK Partizan 1:3 (play-off, semifinal, 2nd match)

So typical that now no channel broadcasted the game.
In the first set we skinned them alive. Really. We were leading for the whole time. Pantić was on top. It was tough only once when they narrowed the standing to 19:20. We had to take quick action. We did, we very quickly won the set to 21:25.
As I could understand from the official match report, we screwed up the 2nd set (red team won it to 25:15) only because we had 9 (!!!) service errors. Never mind, for the third part we picked ourselves together. We had more confidence, though after 12:14 the opponent equalized (17:17). But then came Buša and blocked the hell out of them. Pantić also brought his great form, we swept them off with 21:25.
In the 4th set the two teams vivisected each other. The last part brought a great battle with barely 1-point difference on both sides.
Then Zvezda jumped to 19:16.
Oh, no. There goes the set, the match, the final, the championship title.
No way.
Veličković blocked them to death. We equalized (19:19). Lopar blocked, we took back the lead (21:22). Zvezda was right behind us (22:23), but at this point Partizan was like a nuclear plant moments before explosion. Buša brought the points, Jokanović served, Zvezda could make a little, just a very little trouble at the very end, at the match ball, but they couldn’t rough us up. The victory was ours. We won the set to 23:25 and the match to 1:3. Next round on Tuesday, 12th.

Crvena Zvezda: Okolić (14), Jevtić (libero), Đurđević, Skrbić, Gmitrović (2), Milutinović (8), Jakovljević (20), Stojsavljević (5), Munćan, Blagojević (17), Veljović, Buculjević
Head coach: Dragan Kobiljski

OK Partizan: Buša (14), Pantić (16), Nedeljković, Žugić, Lopar (12), Kostić (1), Rajković (libero), Jokanović, Veličković (18), Polomac (6), Popović (1), Perišić
Head coach: Vladimir Vasović

Photos from the match:

(photos: Facebook/Odbojkaški Klub Partizan)

(photo: zurnal.rs)

OK Partizan - Klek 3:1 (superliga, round 17)

Less than minimal information available about the game: check.
Cursing and swearing heavily because of this: check.
Still attempting to write a blogpost: check.

That’s how it is.

Most important is that we won, though in the beginning it didn’t look like so. Klek won the first set to 18:25 and they were leading even in the second (7:8). Then we picked ourselves together and took the advantage around the middle of the set (16:11). The last stage of the second part was a parade made by us, we won it to 25:18.
The next set was easy, we won it without many difficulties (25:20), while in the last one we completely swept the guests off the court (25:16), keeping the game not longer than 84 minutes altogether. The Veličković- Popović-Polomac trio made an amazing job.

OK Partizan: Pantić (8), Nedeljković, Žugić, Lopar (11), Kostić (8), Tasić, Rajković (libero), Jokanović, Veličković (20), Polomac (10), Popović (16), Perišić
Head coach: Vladimir Vasović

Klek: Tomić (13), Ateljević (6), Grče, Grbić, Tanović (6), Narančić (9), Roljić (8), Đukanović, Providžalo (6), Petrović, Slavnić (libero), Stašević (libero)
Head coach: Davor Čuk

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 48 points
2. Vojvodina 44 points
3. Novi Pazar 34 points
4. Niš 28 points
5. Partizan 28 points
6. Spartak Ljig 21 points
7. Radnički 18 points
8. Ribnica 18 points
9. Klek 15 points
10. Inđija 1 point

Crvena Zvezda - OK Partizan 3:1 (superliga, round 16)

It wasn’t funny.
I brought a lot of screenshots though.

Teams warm up

OK Partizan’s lineup

Introducing players

Group hug before the start

The first set was awful. We made all the possible mistakes. Zvezda was far ahead of us (15:10, 18:11, 22:12), we were mostly just assisting. It ended with 25:13, the result tells it all.
Some screenshots from the first part:

First timeout at 5:1

Receivers: Buša, Pantić and Lopar

Lopar doesn’t look happy (who would be, when the opponent leads with 8:3?...), Kostić is confused

Service: Lopar...

...Kostić...

...and Veličković

Our nervousness calmed down a bit for the second set. At 8:3 we made a fantastic series, we equalized (8:8). Zvezda tried to run away (12:8), but we worked off the difference and were constantly behind them with a step (12:11). The home team was leading for the entire set, but the difference was only a few points now and our game was more and more confident. Still Zvezda won the second part to 25:20.
Images:

Polomac getting ready for service

Earning a point

Head coach Vladimir Vasović

Battle

Dimitrije Pantić

Receivers before a service

For the third set things started to work suddenly. At the beginning we were behind them with only 1-2 points (5:4, 6:5, 7:6), then we equalized (11:11).
Then we took the lead, for the first time during the match! (12:13)
To celebrate it Popović scored a giant ace, so big that Zvezda-players had to take a few deep breaths before continuing. (12:14)
They couldn’t take back the lead for the rest of the set. Sometimes they equalized, but that didn’t last long. It was close, but we kept ourselves. We won the set to 23:25.
Images:

Polomac is about to serve

Receivers

Rajković, the best libero

Ivan Kostić

Nemanja Jokanović serves

In the last set something blew out. We got too tired or the pressure was too big. Sometimes we equalized, once we took the lead (12:14), but Zvezda equalized (15:15) and from then on they kept all in control. The fourth part ended with 25:19.
Images:

Vladimir Vasović trying to shake up the boys

It’s our turn

 Boris Buša

High five

Cleaning staff

End of the game, handshakes

Crvena Zvezda: Okolić, Jevtić (libero), Skrbić, Gmitrović, Stavlić, Milutinović (9), Jakovljević (12), Stoisavljević (11), Munćan (7), Blagojević (24), Veljović, Buculjević (3)
Head coach: Dragan Kobiljski

OK Partizan: Buša (15), Pantić (15), Nedeljković, Žugić, Lopar (7), Kostić (2), Rajković (libero), Jokanović, Veličković (5), Polomac (7), Popović (3), Perišić
Head coach: Vladimir Vasović

League table will be brought later.

Ribnica - OK Partizan 1:3 (superliga, round 13)

There could be a great battle in the Kraljevo sports hall. We won with a very close fight, the two teams were surely strangling each other by the throat.
The first set was won by the home team to 25:22, and based on the image of the game it very much seemed so that they will won the match itself as well. But Partizan picked themselves together for the second set, while the official match report adds that there was a big number of Grave Diggers in the sports hall cheering and supporting the team loud for the entire game. We won the second part to 20:25, we equalized.
Then the team sped up. Veličković, Buša, Pantić and Polomac turned themselves into Transformers (or they have some secret Jedi power) and we won the third part to 23:25. We finished the decisive fourth game with the same result. Sportski Žurnal mentions this match as a life-saving victory for Partizan - with this 1:3 we are now on the 5th place of the league table, as of now. (There are 3 more games left from this round.)

(photo: zurnal.rs)

Ribnica: Ilić (7), Pavlović (1), Seizović, Okošanović (28), Marković, Adamović (7), Usiljanin (14), Močić (libero), Vilimanović (1), Strahinja Milovanović, Slobodan Milovanović (6), Paunović
Head coach: Boško Mačužić

OK Partizan: Buša (18), Pantić (10), Nedeljković, Žugić, Lopar (7), Kostić (3), Rajković (libero), Jokanović (1), Veličković (22), Polomac (10), Popović, Perišić
Head coach: Vladimir Vasović

League table will be brought later.
Update: current championship standings
1. CZ 36 points
2. Vojvodina 33 points
3. Niš 24 points
4. Novi Pazar 23 points
5. Partizan 19 points
6. Spartak Ljig 15 points
7. Radnički 15 points
8. Klek 15 points
9. Ribnica 14 points
10. Inđija 1 point

OK Partizan - Novi Pazar 1:3 (superliga, round 12)

It was a relatively easy win for Novi Pazar against our volleyball team. They kept the game under their control, winning the first set to 22:25 and the second to 16:25. Partizan could show a more powerful, more collected game only in the third part, we won it to 25:21. We could keep the pace even in the fourth, leading to 8:6 in the beginning. We were behind the guests with only 1 point in the middle (15:16), but at the end Novi Pazar was too strong. They won the last set to 21:25, eventually winning the match to 1:3.

High five to Sportski žurnal for publishing their short report just a few hours after the game.

OK Partizan: Buša (10), Pantić (7), Nedeljković, Žugić, Lopar (11), Kostić (4), Tasić, Rajković (libero), Jokanović, Veličković (15), Polomac (7), Perišić
Vezetőedző: Vladimir Vasović

Novi Pazar: Zoranić, Novoselac (3), R. Stevanović (15), Delić, Daca (8), N. Stevanović (19), Radović (20), Božović, Brzaković (1), Zatrić (7), Bulatović, Kapur (libero)
Vezetőedző: Milan Gršić

League table comes later.

Update: current championship standings
1. CZ 33 points
2. Vojvodina 30 points
3. Novi Pazar 24 points
4. Niš 20 points
5. Partizan 16 points
6. Spartak Ljig 15 points
7. Radnički 15 points
8. Ribnica 15 points
9. Klek 11 points
10. Inđija 1 point

Inđija - OK Partizan 0:3 (superliga, round 11)

This game was played yesterday.
I heard about it for the first time on Friday only.

I'm not even surprised anymore that there is such a big silence about the volleyball league in the media. The volleyball association seems to give no shit at all. Their home page is a catastrophe, they report games only in an "in brief"-style. No photos about the games and even their Youtube-channel hasn't been refreshed since last year (they had at least match highlights then). They are not present on any social media either. 
In 2016. In the 21st century.
Professionalism, my a...

Only minimal information is available. Most important is that Partizan won easily against Inđija. We were leading for the whole time, winning the first part to 21:25, the second to 14:25 and the third to 16:25.

Inđija: Lalić (10), Sretenović (1), Pešut (8), U. Grković (libero), A. Grković (4), Čolović, Andrić, Mićić (8), Stević, Kovačević (4)
Head coach: Vladimir Šarenac

OK Partizan: Buša (17), Pantić (12), Nedeljković, Žugić, Lopar (7), Kostić (1), Rajković (libero), Jokanović (1), Veličković (13), Polomac (5), Popović, Perišić
Head coach: Vladimir Vasović

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 30 points
2. Vojvodina 27 points
3. Niš 20 points
4. Novi Pazar 21 points
5. Partizan 16 points
6. Spartak Ljig 15 points
7. Radnički 12 points
8. Ribnica 12 points
9. Klek 11 points
10. Inđija 1 point

OK Partizan - Spartak Ljig 3:0 (superliga, round 9)

It was an easy, smooth game without much excitement against the Ljig-based team. Well, all right, at the end there was some excitement, because the guests were leading to 5:8 at the beginning of the first set, but later it was gone. They still kept themselves during the first part, the standing was still narrow in the middle of the set (16:15), even at the end the difference was only 3 points (21:18), but we still won to 25:20.
The second set was smoother. The difference was growing, first it was 8:5, then 16:13, finally, at the end we were leading to 21:16. The always bigger Partizan-pressure got to be a too heavy weight for Spartak, the second part ended with 25:19.
At the end it was like a festival. The Buša-Veličković-Pantić axis sped up, they scored one point after the other. We made it to 16:10, then to 21:12. Spartak collapsed. The end was all fireworks, we won the set to 25:13 as well as the match to 3:0.
The heroes of the day are Boris Buša and Luka Veličković, they both scored 16-16 points. They are followed by Dimitrije Pantić (12), Dušan Lopar (9), Ivan Kostić (6) and Aleksa Polomac (5).
This time there are photos, too.

Standing with his back to the viewer, wearing #1 shirt it's Boris Buša, behind him (#5) Lopar. At the net with #15 it’s Polomac, while at the back of the photo, wearing white shirt it’s Bojan Rajkovć, everyone’s favourite libero

Group hug at the end

(photos: Facebook/Odbojkaški Klub Partizan)

League table will be brought later.
Update: current championship standings
1. CZ 24 points
2. Vojvodina 24 points
3. Novi Pazar 19 points
4. Niš 14 points
5. Partizan 13 points
6. Spartak Ljig 12 points
7. Radnički 11 points
8. Klek 9 points
9. Ribnica 8 points
10. Inđija 1 point

Klek - OK Partizan 0:3 (superliga, round 8)

We needed this victory as badly as the starving needs a piece of bred. Our position on the league table was more than terrible. Partizan's volleyball team headed to this game standing on the 8th place of the table, with only 2 points ahead of Ribnica.

League table before Partizan's match against Klek

(source: flashscore.com)

Reports talk about very lucky spectators who gathered at the sports hall of Miloš Grbić Elementary School in Klek, because they could see a very exciting, great game. In the first set Klek was leading to 19:18, then Partizan switched the standing to 19:23 (!!!). Klek picked themselves together and reduced the difference to 22:24, but finally we won it to 23:25.
The second set was more or less the same, it brought again a great fight for the last minutes. The two teams had a nip-and-tuck battle, they didn’t stop until 26:28.
For the last part Klek ran out of power. The Veličković-Pantić-Buša trio took the team on their back and we won the third set to 13:25 as well as the match to 0:3.
The hero of the day is Luka Veličković with 14 points. He is followed by Dimitrije Pantić and Boris Buša (12-12) - Boris Buša scored 4 aces! -, Dušan Lopar (11), Aleksa Polomac (9) and Ivan Kostić (5).

I stole this photo about Boris Buša, because you just have to steal one, it’s amazing that absolutely no news sites are willing to publish any image about the volleyball team or just care about volleyball at all.

(photo: uokpl.rs)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 21 points
2. Vojvodina 21 points
3. Novi Pazar 16 points
4. Niš 14 points
5. Spartak Ljig 12 points
6. Radnički 11 points
7. Partizan 10 points
8. Klek 9 points
9. Ribnica 5 points
10. Inđija 1 point

OK Partizan - Crvena Zvezda 0:3 (superliga, round 7)

The next smash in the face was received by the volleyball team. They clashed with the eternal rivals, and the neighbouring team had an overly confident victory against us. It barely took more than an hour.
For the first set the neighbours were leading with 4-5 points for the whole time (4:8, 12:16, 16:21). They won it to 18:25. (The official report says that Partizan had a lot of mistakes, red team took advantage of them.) The second set was more narrow. Red team was leading even then, too, but only with 1-2 points. They could still win it to 23:25.
The last game was similar to the second. It was narrow with only one or two points of difference, but even here the opponent was leading for the whole time. They won it to 23:25, eventually winning the match to 0:3.
The hero of the day is Dimitrije Pantić with 13 points. He is followed by Dušan Lopar (10), Luka Veličković and Boris Buša (9-9), Aleksa Polomac (4) as well as Marko Popović (3).

(photo: zurnal.rs)

League table comes later.

Update: current championship standings
1. Vojvodina 18 points
2. CZ 15 points*
3. Novi Pazar 13 points*
4. Spartak Ljig 12 points
5. Niš 11 points
6. Radnički 11 points
7. Klek 9 points
8. Partizan 7 points
9. Ribnica 5 points
10. Inđija 1 point

Teams marked with * played only 6 matches so far.

Radnički Kragujevac - OK Partizan 3:1 (superliga, round 6)

Yesterday there were two more games Partizan-teams took part at. The volleyball team travelled to Kragujevac to clash with Radnički.
Well... why should we try to attenuate it? We had a nasty defeat.
All looked smooth at the start. We won the first set to 16:25. It all seemed to be easy, maybe Veličković and Lopar even told each other jokes while rotation.
Then something surely happened, because Radnički sped up unbelievably for the second set - so much that they won it to 25:9 (!!!). (They made it to 8:2 even in the beginning, with black magic maybe...)
For the third part head coach Vladimir Vasović calmed down the upheaval in the heads. Kragujevac was still leading for the entire set (most probably), but the result was more narrow than the previous. The home team won it to 27:25, leading to 2:1 at this point, but hope was still not lost.
The problem was that Kragujevac mercilessly won the fourth (and last) set as well. It ended with 25:19, and with this Radnički won the game to 3:1.
The hero of the day was Luka Veličković with 11 points. He is followed by Aleksa Polomac (9), Boris Buša and Marko Popović (8-8), Dušan Lopar (7), Dimitrije Pantić and Vukasin Nedeljković (3-3) as well as Ivan Kostić (2).

Current championship standings:
1. Vojvodina 15 points
2. Novi Pazar 13 points*
3. CZ 12 points*
4. Niš 9 points
5. Spartak Ljig 9 points
6. Klek 8 points
7. Radnički 8 points
8. Partizan 7 points
9. Ribnica 5 points
10. Inđija 1 point

Teams marked with * played only 5 games up to now.

Niš - OK Partizan 3:2 (superliga, round 5)

Isn’t it a fantastic feeling to get to know about a match that was played the day before. May the sky fall onto the entire lazy sports media for giving absolutely no damn on the volleyball superliga (among others).
In the first part we made a fantastic resurrection. The home team was leading to 16:9, finally we switched the standing and won to 25:27. In the second part the home team was leading constantly, always with 2-3 points, eventually winning it to 25:20, equalizing the standing to 1:1. Then came the third part, it was uncertain for the whole time who would win it. Finally we did, with blood and sweat, to 23:25, taking back the lead. For the fourth set (as reports say) Partizan started to get exhausted a bit. The home team kept on blocking all our attempts, which helped them winning it to 25:18. They equalized, so the decision about who’d win was left for the last game.
This last part was the drama of dramas as the official report says. There were 70 (!) fouls and mistakes counted, finally Niš won to 20:18, eventually winning the match itself after more than three and a half hours of battle.
The hero of the day was again Dimitrije Pantić with 20 points. He is followed by Boris Buša and Luka Veličković (15-15), Dušan Lopar (10) and Aleksa Polomac (8).

League table will be brought later.

Update: current championship standings
1. Vojvodina 12 points
2. Novi Pazar 10 points*
3. Niš 9 points
4. CZ 9 points*
5. Spartak Ljig 9 points
6. Klek 8 points
7. Partizan 7 points
8. Radnički 5 points
9. Ribnica 2 points
10. Inđija 1 point

Teams marked with * have played only 4 matches so far.

OK Partizan - Ribnica 3:0 (superliga, round 4)

RTS 2 was supposed to broadcast this game.

I didn't know about it, because it wasn't mentioned at anywhere. The info crossed me out of the blue.

Eventually they didn't broadcast. Even the live score didn't work at the superliga's home page until the middle of the second set. (At least sofascore.com did.)
The available information is again minimal, the most important is that we took the lead in the first part and didn't let it out of our hands for the whole time. The difference was not that big, but we kept on leading confidently, winning the first game to 25:22.
The second set was a bit more narrow, the difference was only 1-2 points, guests tried to grab our throat, but we were still leading, ending the middle part with 25:23.
The third one was a bit more tough, either we started to get tired or Ribnice sped up for the end, nevertheless in the beginning they took the lead and could keep it until 9:9. At that point we mobilized our restored energies, turned on the Parni valjak, took back the lead and with great fight we won the last part to 25:22.
The two heroes of the day are Boris Buša and Dimitrije Pantić, both scoring 14 points. They are followed by Luka Veličković (13 points), Dušan Lopar (9 points), Aleksa Polomac (6 points) as well as Ivan Kostić and Nemanja Jokanović (1-1 point).

There’s no photo or video footage about the game, because no sports page takes the trouble to publish volleyball superliga reports. Also Wienerliga (the official name of the superliga) has been too lazy, because they haven’t published any photos since forever to their site, and lately they haven’t even uploaded video highlights on Youtube. Even these photos are from the home page of the Serbian volleyball association.

Aleksa Polomac

Boris Buša

(photos: ossrb.org)

League table will be brought later, on Sunday.

Update: current championship standings
1. Vojvodina 9 points
2. Klek 8 points
3. Niš 7 points
4. Novi Pazar 7 points*
5. CZ 6 points*
6. Spartak Ljig 6 points
7. Partizan 6 points
8. Radnički 5 points
9. Ribnica 2 points
10. Inđija 1 point