There were no surprising results in the quarterfinals of the Serbian League playoffs, as Radnicki, Novi Beograd, Sabac, and Crvena Zvezda all advanced to the semifinals.
There were no surprises in the quarter-finals of the Serbian League playoffs. Radnicki, Novi Beograd, Sabac and Crvena Zvezda advanced to the semifinals.
Regional League winner Radnicki played against NBG Vukovi, Novi Beograd’s development team, in the quarterfinals. Radnicki played without several of its most experienced players in the first match in Belgrade and recorded a 16:6 win. Radnicki’s coach, Uros Stevanovic, fielded almost all the best players in the return match in Kragujevac, and they made a big contribution to a win. Dusan Vasic scored four, Dusko Pijetlovic and Radomir Drasovic added three in a 17:5 victory.
Novi Beograd played against Partizan in the Belgrade derby. The young team of the seven-time European champion scored a lot of goals, but it wasn’t enough as Novi Beograd was merciless in the attack. The favorite champion recorded a 17:10 victory in the first game. Nine goals separated the rivals in the return leg – Novi Beograd won 22:13. Marko Dimitrijevic was unstoppable. He scored four goals for Novi Beograd in the first match and six in the return game.
Sabac beat Stari Grad twice. After a narrow 10:8 victory in Belgrade, Sabac scored almost twice as many goals in the home pool and beat Stari Grad 19:13. Ognjen Stojanovic led Sabac with four goals in each encounter. Stari Grad’s Gavril Subotic also found the net eight times (three times in the first match and five times in Sabac).
Crvena Zvezda opened the playoffs with a 10:5 away win over Valis. The “Red-Whites” didn’t repeat such a convincing victory in the match in Belgrade. However, Valis wasn’t close to making a surprise. Crvena Zvezda confirmed its spot in the semis with a 15:13 victory. The Regional League’s best regular season scorer, Kristijan Sulc, scored four goals for Crvena Zvezda in each game.
Serbian League, Playoffs, Quarterfinals (best of two)
1st leg
NBG Vukovi – Radnicki 6:16 (1:4, 2:3, 2:4, 1:5)
Partizan – Novi Beograd 10:17 (2:5, 3:5, 2:4, 3:3)
Stari Grad – Sabac 8:10 (4:2, 1:4, 2:2, 1:2)
Valis – Crvena Zvezda 5:10 (1:2, 1:4, 0:2, 3:2)
2nd leg
Radnicki – NBG Vukovi 17:5 (3:1, 7:2, 1:1, 6:1)
Novi Beograd – Partizan 22:13 (5:4, 5:0, 7:7, 6:2)
Sabac – Stari Grad 19:13 (5:1, 3:4, 6:5, 5:3)
Crvena Zvezda – Valis 15:13 (4:4, 4:3, 3:3, 4:3)
The pairs of the semifinals: Radnicki – Crvena zvezda, Novi Beograd – Sabac
