A1 Regional League: Vojvodina and Primorje run neck and neck

January 16, 2022

Photo: VK Primorje/FB

The Regional League has continued, with the tournaments of the second stage in the A1 League.

Rounds 6, 7, and 8 were played in Zrenjanin and Zadar this weekend.

Primorje Rijeka and Vojvodina Novi Sad kept their perfect records. They beat all the rivals in the second stage. Each team has recorded eight wins since the start of the season.

The third stage will be played between February 11 and 13.

The Premier Regional League continues next weekend. The second stage will be held in Belgrade and Budva.

2021/22 A1 Regional League, Stage 2

Group C (Zrenjanin)

ROUND 6

Vojvodina – KPK Korčula 14:12 (1:2, 5:4, 5:2, 3:4)

Proleter – Medveščak 14:8 (4:3, 2:2, 5:1, 3:2)

Triglav Kranj – Nais 6:18 (2:4, 1:2, 1:4, 4:6)

ROUND 7

Medveščak – AVK Triglav 14:13 (3:5, 3:3, 2:1, 6:4)

Proleter – KPK Korčula 16:9 (2:0, 5:3, 6:3, 3:3)

Vojvodina – Nais 10:9 (2:1, 3:1, 3:2, 2:5)

ROUND 8

Triglav – KPK 13:10 (3:4, 5:1, 1:3, 4:2)

Medveščak – Vojvodina 9:17 (3:5, 1:3,3:5, 2:4)

Nais – Proleter 12:19 (4:6, 1:4 2:5, 5:4)

Vojvodina recorded three wins in Zrenjanin, as expected, but the Novi Sad-based wasn’t convincing in all games.

On the opening day, Vojvodina faced KPK Korčula. The rivals were tied at 6:6 at halftime. The Serbs, led by Aleksandar Radanović (four goals in this match), built a 3-goal lead in the third period (11:8). Midway through the fourth quarter, Vojvodina went to 13:11. KPK Korčula halved the deficit, but it couldn’t catch up with the rival. Vojvodina recorded a 14:12 victory.

A Serbian derby between Vojvodina and Nais was one of the most exciting games in the second stage. Vojvodina had a 4-goal advantage before the final quarter (8:4). Still, Nais found some reserves and started coming back. Nais scored three goals in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter and came very close to the rival (7:8). Bursać doubled Vojvodina’s advantage (9:7). Nais managed to equalize (9:9) with 01:59 minutes to go. Nikola Bursać scored his 4th goal in the match with 49 seconds remaining on the clock to give Vojvodina a 10:9 lead. Nais had a man-up in its last attack but failed to score and Vojvodina saved all three points.

In the 8th round, Vojvodina easily beat Medveščak.

Host Proleter Zrenjanin collected nine points in the second stage, as well as Vojvodina did. The home side recorded three victories easier than expected. First, it beat Medveščak 14:8, then Proleter recorded a 16:9 victory over KPK Korčula. The tournament was closed with an encounter between Proleter and Nais. There were a lot of goals, but the match lacked excitement. Proleter beat Nais 19:12. Ljubenović and Mitrović netted four goals each for the winning team.

After eight rounds, Proleter shares 3rd and 4th place with Valis Valjevo.

Triglav, Nais and Medveščak achieved a win each in Zrenjanin. KPK Korčula finished the tournament with no points and it is still winless.

Group D (Zadar)

ROUND 6

Cattaro – POŠK 11:11 (3:4, 5:2, 2:4, 1:1)

Primorje – Zemun 14:9 (2:1, 5:1, 3:3, 4:4)

Valis – Zadar 15:12 (4:2, 3:2, 4:4, 4:4)

ROUND 7

Zemun – Valis 10:10 (3:4, 1:1, 4:1, 2:4)

Primorje –POŠK 20:10 (6:2, 4:2, 5:4, 5:2)

Cattaro – Zadar 8:9 (1:4,3:1, 3:1, 1:3)

ROUND 8

Valis – POŠK 21:5 (6:1, 4:0, 5:2, 6:2)

Zemun – Cattaro 10:13 (3:3, 4:2, 1:4, 2:4)

Zadar – Primorje 9:15 (2:2, 3:5, 3:4, 1:4)

Primorje recorded three convincing wins in Zadar. On Day 1, it beat Zemun 14:9 with six goals from Tin Brubnjak. Then, it trashed POŠK 20:10. Brubnjak was the best scorer again (five goals).

Today, the Rijeka-based side faced host Zadar. The first quarter was balanced (2:2). But, the visitors proved who the favorites were in the following three periods, and defeated Zadar 15:9. Noa Burburan contributed to the win with five goals, Fabio Crippa added four.

Valis Valjevo earned seven points in Zadar. On Friday, Valis defeated host Zadar. After the first half, the Serbs led 7:4. In a high-scoring second half, they maintained a 3-goal difference for a 15:12 victory.

In the 7th round, Valis saved a point against Zemun, which led 9:6 early in the fourth quarter. Valis produced a 3:0 run to level at 9:9. Two minutes before the final buzzer, Zemun went in front (10:9) once more. Still, Valis’ Bucalo responded immediately for the final score of 10:10. The team from Valjevo completed a successful tournament demolishing POŠK.

Cattaro won four points in the second stage.

Host Zadar collected three points beating Cattaro in the match of the seventh round after a big comeback. The home team started well and had a 4:1 lead after the first quarter. Cattaro dominated in the middle two periods. The Montenegrins entered the final quarter leading 7:6. In the 27th minute, they doubled an advantage (8:6), but Zadar scored the last three goals in the match for a 9:8 victory.
Zemun and POŠK won a point each in Zadar. POŠK didn’t play in the first stage. The Split-based side missed the first tournament because of many coronavirus cases at the team. Still, POŠK water polo players joined the league in the second stage. According to the rules, they lost their five matches in the first stage with a technical score (0:5).