Jug cruises to semifinals of Croatian Championship
Match Primorje-Jadran Photo:VK Primorje EB/Facebook
The first official water polo competition after the suspension because of the COVID-19 pandemic has started.
The Croatian Championship began on Wednesday. Title-holder Jug Dubrovnik became the first team that advanced to the semifinals.
Jug Dubrovnik convincingly beat Galeb Makarska in both matches of the quarterfinals (best-of-two series). According to the agreement between the clubs, both games were played in Dubrovnik (yesterday and today).
On Thursday evening, Jug was merciless and celebrated a 23:4 victory. Today, the champions had a slow start. Two minutes before the end of the first period, the score was 2:2. But, the hosts scored seven unanswered goals by the middle break and jumped to a 9:2 lead. The Dubrovnik-based side didn't slow down. In the remaining time, the home team increased the margin to 15 and recorded a 20:5 win. Jug played without a few key players in the second match (Loncar, Garcia, Macan). Loncar missed yesterday's game, also. Head coach Vjekoslav Kobescak gave the opportunity to younger players to prove themselves.
The matches in Rijeka and Sibenik opened the championship on Wednesday. Jadran Split defeated Primorje in Rijeka 13:9, while Solaris Sibenik took a big step in their efforts to reach the semifinals. Solaris beat Mornar 14:5. Solaris's captain Andrija Vlahovic, who will play for Italian Ortigia next season, was the best scorer, with five goals.
–EDITED June 26, 10:06 PM–
The last match of the first leg was played this evening in Zagreb. Regional League winner Mladost ran past POSK Split with ease on the way to a 21:4 victory. Luka Bukic led the hosts with six goals, while Kharkov added four. Mladost played without injured Aljosa Kunac and Jerko Jurlinaa and Marin Dasic who have self-isolated. The return leg is tomorrow. The clubs agreed to play both games in Zagreb.
Croatian Championship, playoffs, quarterfinals
1st leg
Primorje – Jadran S 9:13 (1:3, 3:3, 3:3, 2:4)
Primorje EB: Brubnjak 2, Augusti 2, Paparic 2, Car 2, Cunko 1.
Jadran Split: Duzevic 4, Delic 2, Viskovic 2, Buric 1, Krapic 1, Butic 1, Pejkovic 1, Setka 1.
Solaris – Mornar 14:5 (5:2, 2:1, 4:1, 3:1)
Solaris: Vlahovic 5, Pelicaric 3, Strkalj 2, Malenica 1, Herceg 1, T. Sparada 1, Koprcina 1.
Mornar BS: Ban 2, Jakovljevic 1, Akrap 1, Buselic 1.
Galeb – Jug 4:23 (1:7, 2:7, 0:3, 1:6)
Galeb MR: Popovic 2, A. Kuzmanic 1, Vukic 1.
Jug AO: Lozina 3, Merkulov 3, Zuvela 3, Obradovic 3, Tomasovic 3, Fatovic 2, Garcia 2, Ljepava 2, Macan 1, Krzic 1.
POSK – Mladost 4:21 (1:7, 1:3, 1:7,1:4)
OVK POSK: Divkovic 3, Gadza 1.
HAVK Mladost: Bukic 6, Kharkov 4, Vrlic 3, Radu 2, Milos 2, Bowen 2, Cuk 1, Lazic 1.
2nd leg
Jug – Galeb 20:5 (3:2, 6:0, 4:1, 7:2)
Jug AO: Lozina 3, Cukrov 3, Vukojevic 3, Stahor 2, Radic 2, Papanastasiou 2, Zuvela 1, Merkulov 1,Benic 1, Obradovic 1, Tomasovic 1.
Galeb MR: Popovic 2, Marinovic 1, Stojanac 1, Kaleb 1.
Mladost – POSK
Jadran S – Primorje
Mornar – Solaris
Pairing for the semifinals (best of three)
Jug – Solaris or Mornar
Jadran or Primorje – Mladost or POSK.
Playoffs for 9th place
Zadar 1952 – Medvescak 9:14 (3:2, 1:3, 2:6, 3:3)
(2nd leg on Saturday)