Croatia won the gold medal at the 13th “Darko Cukic Memorial Tournament” for boys born in 2005 and later (U14).
The Serbian Water Polo Federation hosted the traditional event in Belgrade, at the Banjica pool.
Five teams took part, and they played a round-robin tournament. Host Serbia took the silver medal, Malta won the bronze, Georgia finished 4th, while Montenegro was the 5th-placed team
Today’s last encounter of the tournament, between Croatia and Serbia, decided the gold medal winner, as both teams had 9 points before the last round.
Serbia had a one-goal lead (1:0 and 2:1) in the opening minutes. After the first period, it was 3:3. Croatia kept Serbia scoreless in the remaining three quarters, while it played very well in attack. By halftime, the Croats jumped to an 8:3 lead. In the end, they celebrated a convincing 11:3 victory.
Malta and Georgia collected 4 points each, but the Maltese clinched the bronze medal thanks to a better goal difference. Montenegro finished the tournament with no points.
13th U14 Tournament “Darko Cukic” (Belgrade, 2nd-4th August)
Day 1
Serbia – Georgia 19:10 (5:2, 2:2, 5:1, 7:5)
Malta – Croatia 12:13 (1:4, 3:4, 5:3, 3:2)
Montenegro – Serbia 2:7 (1:2, 0:2, 1:2, 0:1)
Georgia – Malta 12:12 (1:1, 4:3, 4:5, 3:3)
Day 2
Malta – Montenegro 10:7 (1:1, 4:1, 0:5, 5:0)
Croatia – Georgia 16:10 (2:1, 6:3, 5:3, 3:3)
Serbia – Malta 12:6 (5:0, 3:2, 3:3,1:1)
Croatia – Montenegro 12:3
Day 3
Georgia – Montenegro 13:9 (3:1, 1:3, 6:3, 3:2)
Croatia – Serbia 11:3 (3:3, 5:0, 2:0, 1:0)
1.Croatia 12pts
2.Serbia 9
3.Malta 4
4 Georgia 4
5 Montenegro 0
