The national teams of Serbia and Montenegro faced off this evening in their last rehearsal for the Final Eight of the European Qualifications for the World League Super Final (Podgorica April 28 – 30).
The two teams met in a friendly match in Trebinje, organized on the occasion of the opening of a new pool in this city, located in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Olympic champion Serbia recorded a narrow 11:10 victory in a thrilling game.
Friendly match, Trebinje
Serbia – Montenegro 11:10 (4:1, 3:5, 2:2, 2:2)
Serbia: Randjelovic 3, Gogov 2, S. Rasovic 2, Lazic 2, Vico 1, V. Rasovic 1.
Montenegro: Mrsic 4, S.Cetkovic 1, Petkovic 1, V. Radovic 1, Da.Radovic 1, Djurdjic 1, Matkovic 1.
Serbia started better and earned a 4:1 lead in the first quarter. However, Montenegro cut the deficit (6:7) by the middle break.
The Montenegrins leveled at 7:7 in the third period, but they didn’t earn a lead. Serbia had a 9:8 advantage before the final eight minutes.
Montenegro opened the fourth quarter with two goals (Djurdjic and Cetkovic), and went in front for the first and the only time (10:9). Gogov leveled at 10:10. Two minutes before the final buzzer, Serbia’s defender Sava Randjelovic netted his third goal for the final score (11:10).
After the game, both teams went to Podgorica. On the first day of the Final Eight, Montenegro will play against France, while Serbia will face Greece in a replay of the Olympic final.
F8 of European qualifications for the World League, schedule
Thursday, April 28, quarterfinals
15:00: Croatia – Italy (Game 1)
17:00 Hungary – Spain (Game 2)
19:00 Montenegro – France (Game 3)
21:00 Serbia – Greece (Game 4)
Friday, April 29, semifinals
5th-8th place
15:00 Losers Game 2 – Game 4
17:00 Losers Game 1 – Game 3
1st – 4th place
19:00 Winners Game 3 – Game 1
21:00 Winners Game 2 – Game 4
Saturday, April 30
15:00 7th-place match
17:00 5th-place match
19:00 3rd-place match
21:00 Final
All times are local (CET)
The best three teams from the tournament in Podgorica and host France will represent Europe at the Super Final (Strasbourg, July 23 – 29).
