Novi Beograd and Ferencvaros will play in the final of the 1st Memorial tournament, “Vlaho Bata Orlic,” played in Belgrade.
Today, Novi Beograd beat Szolnok 10:5 in the semifinals. Ferencvaros didn’t have such an easy task. The Hungarian champion edged out Partizan 13:12 in the second semifinal match.
2020 Memorial Tournament “Vlaho Bata Orlic”, Belgrade, Day 2
Morning session
Group A
Partizan – Noisy-le-Sec 15:14 (4:3, 5:2, 2:3, 4:6)
Partizan: Giga 3, Milos 2, Jaksic 1, Gak 1, Trtovic 1, Dimitrijevic 1, Jaukovic 1, Paparic 1, K.Bodiroga 1.
Noisy-le-Sec: Saudadier 3, Petkovic 3, Krapic 2, Gogov 2, Bowen 1, Bjorch 1, Do Carmo 1, Guerin 1.
Lpvre Milos (Partizan) Photo by VK Novi Beograd
Partizan surprised the second-best French club and secured 2nd place in the group. Noisy still hasn’t reached the desired shape. The best scorer of the World Championships Alex Bowen, started training with the team only on Friday, some players were with the national team, etc. However, these facts do not diminish the importance of the success of a young team of Partizan. The Belgrade-based team controlled the match in the first half and earned a 4-goal advantage. Noisy started coming back, and reduced the gap to one goal at the very end of the game (13:14 and 14:15), but it couldn’t equalize.
Standings: 1. Novi Beograd 6, 2. Partizan 3, 3. Noisy-le-Sec 0.
Group B
Ferencvaros – NBG Vukovi 20:12 (5:4, 4:3, 6:3, 6:2)
Ferencvaros: Argyropoulos 4, D.Varga 4, Fekete 3, Merkulov 2, Pohl 1, Vigvari 1, Vadovics 1, B.Varga 1, Damonte
Novobeogradski Vukovi: Markovic 3, Bucan 2, Nesic 2, Sofranac 2, Stojanovic 1, Manojlovic 1, Tonkovic 1.
Ferencvaros was saving energy for the semifinals in its last match in the group stage, but recorded an easy win over Novi Beograd’s B team.
Evening session
Semifinals
Novi Beograd – Szolnok 10:5 (2:1, 3:0, 0:1, 5:3)
Novi Beograd: Pijetlovic 3, Mandic 2, Granados 1, Drasovic 1, Skoumpakis 1, V.Rasovic 1.
Szolnok: Szeghalmi 2, Vismeg 2, Peto 1.
Partizan – Ferencvaros 12:13 (4:3, 2:3, 4:2, 2:5)
Partizan: Trtovic 2, Dimitrijevic 2, Giga 2, K.Bodiroga 2, Paparic 1, Milos 1, Gladovic 1, Smiljevic 1.
Ferencvaros: Merkulov 5, Argyropoulos 4, Vadovics 2, Fekete 1, Vigvari 1.
Novi Beograd earned a 4-goal lead (5:1) in the first half and Szolnok couldn’t come back into the game. The home team, coached by Zivko Gocic, who arrived in Novi Beograd from Szolnok, this summer, slowed in the third period, but its advantage wasn’t in danger.
Photo by VK Novi Beograd/S.Sandic
The game between Partizan and Ferencvaros was very similar to the Hungarian derby, played yesterday, when Ferencvaros narrowly beat Szolnok after a comeback.
Partizan proved its potential and played another very good game. Moreover, the Serbian team dictated the pace for most of the time. Before the final quarter, Partizan led 10:8. Stylianos Argyropoulos opened the fourth period with two quick goals and Ferencvaros leveled at 10:10. Partizan went in front once more – 11:10, but “Fradi responded with two goals” and gained a 12:11 advantage. Lovre Milos leveled at 12:12 with 43 seconds to go. However, just 10 seconds from the end, Daniil Merkulov added his fifth goal and Ferencvaros qualified for the final.
The final Novi Beograd – Ferencvaros will be played tomorrow at noon. Before that match, Partizan and Szolnok will play in the 3rd-place match, Noisy-le-Sec and Novobeogradski Vukovi will battle for 5th plac.e
