There were no surprises in the quarterfinals of the playoffs of the Serbian Championship. The teams which finished 1st-4th in the regular season recorded wins in both quarterfinal legs.
Serbian Championship, playoffs
Quarterfinals (best-of-two), 2nd leg
Crvena zvezda – Partizan 14:2 (5:0, 1:0, 4:2, 4:0) – 1st leg 12:6
Radnicki – Nais 17:4 (4:1, 5:0, 5:1, 3:2) – 18:6
Novi Beograd – Zemun 20:6 (4:0, 5:2, 5:2, 6:2) – 14:2
Sabac – Vojvodina 9:5 (1:2, 2:0, 6:1, 0:2) – 14:8
After a big 12:6 win in the first match, Crvena Zvezda recorded a more convincing victory over Partizan in the return leg. Crvena Zvezda’s defense was almost flawless. The hosts earned a 7:0 lead before Partizan scored its first goal. Milos Vukicevic, a captain of the home team, was the best scorer with three goals. Gavril Subotic, Vuk Milojevic and Kristijan Sulc added two each.
In the second half of the regular season, seven-time European champion Partizan caused headaches to favorites, like Novi Beograd and Radnicki, but it ran out of gas for the playoffs.
Regional League winner Radnicki showed no mercy to Nais in both matches. Strahinja Rasovic scored five goals in the second game.
Novi Beograd, led by Filip Gardasevic and Vasilije Martinovic (four goals each) achieved the biggest win of the second leg, by beating Zemun 20:6.
Te semifinal series (best-of-three): Radnicki (1st in the regular season) – Sabac (4th reg. season), Novi Beograd (2nd)– Crvena Zvezda (3rd). The first matches are scheduled for May 12.
There will be no playoffs for the places 5th – 8th. The final ranking is determined according to the standings in the regular season. Vojvodina finished 5th and qualified for the LEN Euro Cup. Partizan is in the 6th, Zemun in the 7th, and Nais in the 8th place.
One quarter (the 3rd period) was enough for Sabac to secure a win over Vojvodina.
Relegation playoffs (best-of-three)
1st match
Stari Grad – Valis 7:10 (4:4, 0:1, 2:3, 1:2)
More news about the national water polo competitions in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro.
