Novi Beograd retains Serbian Cup

November 29, 2025

Photo by Slobodan Sandic

Novi Beograd continued its winning streak in the Serbian Cup. It won its third consecutive trophy in this competition.

The Final Four of the Serbian Cup was held in a recently opened pool in Futog, a suburb of Novi Sad.

Novi Beograd convincingly defeated Sabac, the Premier League leader, in the final game, 12:7.

Previously, Novi Beograd edged out Radnicki in the semifinals, in the most exciting game of the tournament.

Semifinals

Novi Beograd advanced to the final by beating Radnicki 10:9 in a thrilling derby in the semifinals. The runner-up in the 2025 Champions League ended a 4-game losing streak with a victory over its big rival.

Following Petar Radanovic’s departure, Slavko Gak, who was a team leader until now, took over as head coach of Novi Beograd. Aleksandar Sapic, who continued serving as an assistant coach in official games, was very active in providing advice and developing tactics during both matches in Futog.

Radnicki scored the first goal, but Novi Beograd responded with a 3:0 run. Radnicki, which played with recovered Nikola Jaksic for the first time this season, leveled the score three times (3:3, 4:4, 9:9), but couldn’t go in front again. In the third quarter, Novi Beograd increased its lead to three goals (7:4 and 9:6). Radnicki started coming back. Murisic equalized at 9:9 with 05:37 minutes left on the clock. After that, there were no goals for a while. Milos Cuk, the best scorer of the match, added the fourth goal to his tally, making it 10:9 in the 31st minute, and sealed Novi Beograd’s victory. Radnicki had the last possession, but Vlachopoulos missed in the dying seconds.

Besides Cuk, Vasilije Martinovic did a good job in Novi Beograd’s attack, scoring three goals. Novi Beograd’s defense, commanded by goalkeeper Milan Glusac, shut out Radnicki’s scorers. The only one who scored more than a goal was Murisic, who hit the back of the net twice. Neither team had a good conversion rate on power-play shots, but Novi Beograd’s man-down defense made the difference, as the Belgrade-based side committed 18 personal fouls and Radnicki scored only one goal from 6 on 5.

Aleksandar Sapic (NBG) and Radnicki head coach Uros Stevanovic Photo by Slobodan Sandic

Sabac didn’t have a demanding task in the semis, as it faced its development team, Sava, which is composed of juniors. Sabac recorded a 16:5 win with four goals from Andrija Korac.

Final

Novi Beograd water polo players secured a victory in the middle of the final game with a series of five consecutive goals that set them on the right track.

In the first quarter, the teams were neck-and-neck. Sabac took a one-goal lead three times. Novi Beograd leveled twice, so after eight minutes of play, the Premier League leader had a 3:2 advantage.

Early in the second period, Novi Beograd went ahead for the first time, with two quick goals (Cuk with a man-up and Gladovic). Sabac leveled at 4:4. Still, it couldn’t add another goal before halftime. Novi Beograd headed into the third period leading 6:4. Novi Beograd opened the third period with three goals and jumped to 9:4. Sabac’s captain Mihajlo Repanovic ended Novi Beograd’s 5:0 series.

However, Sabac couldn’t recover. At the last break , Novi Beograd was five steps ahead (10:5). In the final eight minutes, the Belgrade-based team maintained a five-goal difference.

Six players of Novi Beograd got on the scoreboard in a 12:7 victory, with Martinovic and Gladovic scoring three goals each. All the members of the winning team were up to the task on defense, and goalkeeper Milan Gusac recorded 11 saves.