Novi Beograd won the trophy at the 2nd “Vlaho Bata Orlic Memorial Tournament”, which the Serbian champion organized in memory of one of the best coaches in the history of Yugoslavian and Serbian water polo.
Novi Beograd clashed with Jadran Herceg Novi in the final, and defeated it by six goals – 17:11, with Sabac finishing in 3rd place, followed by Partizan, Spandau 04, and Mladost Zagreb.
The hosts successfully defended the trophy they won last year by beating Ferencvaros in the final.
Novi Beograd and Jadran Herceg Novi entered the semifinals from the top spots in the group stage. Novi Beograd defeated Sabac convincingly in the semifinals – 16:7, with three goals from Alvaro Granados., Andrej Barac had the same output in Sabac. Jadran edged out Partizan after a penalty shootout (15:14). Jadran took a 2-goal lead at the finish of the third quarter (6:4). The teams traded the goals until 10:8. Partizan managed to level the score – 10:10 before the final buzzer but it fell in the shoootut. The top scorers were Jadran’s Martin Gardasevic (4) and Ivan Nagaev (3). Luka Gladovic netted three, and Petar Smiljevic three goals for Partizan.
Even though Novi Beograd beat Jadran by six goals in the final, the duel was a very close contest for almost three quarters. Novi Beograd got off to a good start and jumped to 4:1 and 5:2 in the first quarter. Still, Jadran didn’t surrender and leveled three times (5:5, 6:6, 8:8). Novi Beograd scored nine, conceding only three goals in the last 12 minutes – 17:11. New captain Filip Filipovic scored four goals for Novi Beograd. He was followed by Nikola Jaksic (3), Radomir Drasovic (3), Vasilije Martinovic (2), Alvaro Granados (2), etc. Jovan Vujovic found Novi Beograd’s net thrice, Ivan Nagaev and Martin Gardasevic scored two goals each for the Montenegrin champion.
Filip Filipovic was chosen as the best player of the tournament. The trophy was presented to him by Vladimir Gojkovic, Montenegro head coach Photo by VK Novi Beograd/M.Todorovic
Sabac was better than Partizan in the third-place match – 14:11. After a 4:2 first quarter, Sabac went to 6:2 in the 11th minute and from that point on, the distance was never smaller than two goals. Ognjen Stojanovic led Sabac with four goals. Aljosa Macic and Andrej Barac netted two. Petar Tomic, Luka Gladovic, Stetan Gak and a young Maltese Jayden Cutajar scored two each for Partizan.
Spandau won fifth place with a 16:14 victory over Mladost Zagreb. Both sides scored eight goals each in the first half. Early in the fourth quarter, Spandau earned a 15:11 lead and the match entered a quite ending. The best scorers were Mladost’s Jerko Penava and David Mijic (4 goals each). Dutch Bilal Gbadamassi and Marin Tomasovic contributed to Spandau’s win with three goals.
Memorial Tournament “Vlaho Bata Orlic”, classification games
Semifinals
Novi Beograd – Sabac 16:7 (2:1, 5:1, 4:3, 5:2)
Jadran HN – Partizan 15:14 (2:2, 4:3, 2:1, 2:4 – 5:4)
FINAL
Novi Beograd – Jadran HN 17:11 (5:5, 2:1, 4:3, 6:2)
3rd-place game
Sabac – Partizan 14:11 (4:2, 3:2, 4:4, 3:3)
5th-place match
Mladost – Spandau 04 14:16 (4:4, 4:4, 2:5, 4:3)
Final standings: 1. Novi Beograd, 2. Jadran Herceg Novi, 3. Sabac, 4. Partizan, 5. Spandau 04, 6. Mladost.
