"Dule and I were never great friends, but fate had its way..." Vlade Đurović bids farewell to Vujošević

Pulse Sports Team 19:23 - 10 April 2026

The passing of one of the most influential coaches from this region has sparked a wave of emotional reactions from the basketball world, with legendary coach Vlade Đurović offering his unique tribute to his long-time rival, Duško Vujošević.

Appearing on TV Arena Sport ahead of EuroLeague Round 37 games, the seasoned coach took the opportunity to publicly bid a final farewell to a man with whom he shared many intense on-court battles over the years.

"On my own behalf, I extend my condolences to Duško Vujošević's wife Ana and son Luka. Duško and I 'battled' for many years in the sporting arena. He left us too soon; he could have contributed so much more to our basketball if illness hadn't taken hold. It's a great loss. As an advisor, mentor, and lecturer, he still had so much to offer basketball. He was 11 years my junior. It hit me hard, I must say. We were never great friends, but I deeply respect his work. Immense respect. Dule, a huge bow for the work you did in your career, especially at Partizan." - Vlade Đurović

A special place in their rivalry was the 1987 playoff final, when Vujošević secured his first title with Partizan against Đurović's Crvena Zvezda.

"It was fate, his first title came against me. And I was a huge favorite. I expected us to win that. We had beaten Cibona in the semi-finals before that. Grbović then hit five consecutive three-pointers. Savović, Divac, and Paspalj had all fouled out. No one on my team fouled out; I had Žižić and Milićević, all the perimeter players were still there. The only way they could win was with threes, and Grba... He hit five threes, and the last one was his." - Vlade Đurović