There were no matches in the elite national leagues of Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro this weekend.
Some of the ex-Yu clubs played in the Champions League, while 11 teams from Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro opened the new season of the Regional League. The second-tier competition (A1 League) has started with the tournaments in Novi Sad and Rijeka.
The regular season will be played through tournaments. All results are counted for a single table. The regular season is a single round-robin league with a total of 11 rounds.
The first five rounds were played in Rijeka and Novi Sad between Thursday and Sunday, while the remaining six are scheduled for February (14 – 16) and March (4 – 6). The top two teams will advance to the playoffs for spots in the Premier Regional League
There were many exciting games both in Rijeka and in Novi Sad. but the hosts, Primorje and Vojvodina, have perfect records.
2021/22 A1 Regional League, first tournaments
Group A (Rijeka)
DAY 1
Valis – Cattaro 13:10 (3:3, 4:2, 2:4, 4:1)
Nais – Medvescak 14:14 (4:2, 4:4, 3:4, 3:4)
Primorje – KPK Korcula 13:7 (5:2, 3:1, 3:1, 2:3)
DAY 2
Cattaro – KPK Korcula 12:10 (6:2, 1:2, 3:2, 2:4)
Medvescak – Primorje 14:18 (1:7, 6:3, 5:4, 2:4)
Valis – Nais 11:8 (1:3, 5:1, 3:2, 2:2)
KPK Korcula – Medvescak 7:15 (2:1, 1:2, 1:5, 3:7)
Nais – Cattaro 11:12 (3:2, 4:3, 1:3, 3:4)
Primorje – Valis 10:8 (2:1, 2:3, 3:3, 3:1)
DAY 3
Cattaro – Medvescak 15:12 (2:2, 6:4, 4:2, 3:4)
Valis – KPK 12:8 (3:1, 2:2, 3:2, 4:3)
Nais – Primorje 7:13 (3:2, 1:4, 2:4, 1:2)
DAY 4
Primorje – Cattaro 11:10 (2:2, 5:4, 1:0, 3:4)
KPK Korcula – Nais 12:12 (3:1, 4:4, 2:4, 3:3)
Medvescak – Valis 9:19 (2:5, 1:3, 4:7, 2:4)
Host Primorje recorded five wins in the tournament in Rijeka, but it faced some challenging tasks, especially on Friday and today (days 2 and 4)
On Friday morning Primorje faced Medvescak. The hosts stunned Medvescak with a 7:1 first quarter but the Zagreb-based side recovered from a shocking start and started coming back step-by-step. Deep into the third period, Medvescak reduced the gap to one goal (12:13). However, Primorje jumped to 17:12 by the middle of the last quarter and secured the win.
Primorje played against Valis from Valjevo in the evening session of Day 2. The game offered a lot of twists and turns, the lead was constantly changing the side. Before the final quarter, the teams were tied at 7:7. After a quick exchange of goals, it stood 8:8 in the second minute of the fourth quarter. But, Valis didn’t find the net in the last six minutes, while Primorje’s Roko Jurisic scored two goals and the home side recorded a 10:8 victory.
Primorje vs. Valis Photo: VK Primorje
Today, Primorje edged out the only Montenegrin club in the A1 League Cattaro in a thrilling finish. The hosts had an 8:6 advantage after the third quarter and stretched the margin to three early in the fourth (9:6). But, Cattaro caught up with Primorje by the middle of the quarter (9:9). In the 29th minute, Crippa gave Primorje a 10:9 advantage. The final minute was a culmination of the thriller. Just twenty seconds from the end, Cattaro’s Vujovic scored from an extra for 10:10. Primorje earned a man-up in its last possession. Six seconds before the final buzzer Vukovic converted the man-up to 11:10 and Primorje finished the tournament with a perfect record.
The second match of the last day was very exciting, too. KPK Korcula and Nais shared the points. Nais had a 12:10 lead in the middle of the last period. However, the team from the island of Korcula secured a point with two late goals (12:12).
Valis Valjevo defeated Medvescak convincingly in the last game of the tournament. Valis built an 8:2 lead in the first 14 minutes, and didn’t let the Zagreb-based side come back. Moreover, the team from Valjevo increased the margin to 10 (19:9).
For all results, live scoring, schedules, rosters, more information visit our new website www.regionalnavaterpololiga.com, powered by Total Waterpolo and Total Waterpolo Arena.
Group B (Novi Sad)
DAY 1
Proleter – Zadar 1952 12:6 (2:0, 3:1, 4:2, 3:3)
Vojvodina – Triglav 21:9 (8:1, 3:3, 4:3, 6:2)
DAY 2
Zadar 1952 – Triglav 7:10 (1:6, 2:1, 1:1, 3:2)
Proleter – Zemun 8:8 (2:1, 2:3, 2:3, 2:1)
Vojvodina – Proleter 11:10 (3:3, 2:3, 2:2, 4:2)
Zemun- Zadar 8:9 (2:0, 4:4, 1:1, 1:4)
DAY 3
Vojvodina – Zadar 20:12 (6:4, 6:4, 3:1, 5:3)
Triglav – Zemun 12:10 (3:3, 2:2, 5:2, 2:3)
DAY 4
Proleter – Triglav 14:8 (5:1, 4:1, 3:4, 2:2)
Vojvodina – Zemun 12:7 (4:0, 4:2, 2:1, 2:4)
Five teams participated in the tournament in Novi Sad. POSK Split withdrew from the Regional League shortly before the start due to problems with the coronavirus.
Vojvodina achieved four wins. Three of these victories were quite convincing, while one of the four matches was open until the very end.
Vojvodina trashed Triglav on Day 1. The following day, the Novi Sad-based side played against neighbors – Proleter from Zrenjanin. Vojvodina recorded a hard-fought win in an even contest. Two minutes before the end, Proleter was in front (10:9). Still, Vojvodina recorded a victory. Bogdanović equalized in the 31st minute, while Bursac scored a winner – 11:10 with 49 seconds to go.
Photo: VK Vojvodina
On Saturday, Vojvodina defeated Zadar convincingly. The tournament was finished with a Serbian derby, Vojvodina – Zemun. Vojvodina killed all suspense quickly and rushed to a 6:0 lead before Zemun scored its first goal. The great opening proved crucial for a 12:7 victory.
Proleter finished the first tournament with seven points. The Zrenjanin-based side defeated Zadar, Triglav and earned a point in the match against Zemun.
Triglav Kranj, which many considered an underdog before the tournament, suffered convincing losses to Vojvodina and Proleter. But the Slovenians managed to beat Zadar and Zemun, and they are in the middle of the table at the moment.
Zemun is the only winless side among the teams that played in Novi Sad. Zemun was very close to a victory against Zadar. It led 7:5 before the final quarter and had an 8:7 advantage two minutes from the end. But, Zadar had stronger nerves in the final minutes. The Croats scored the last two goals in the game for a 9:8 win.
Standings
1 Primorje (CRO) 5 – 15
2 Vojvodina (SRB) 4 – 12
3 Valis (SRB) 5 – 12
4 Cattaro (MNE) 5 – 9
5 Proleter (SRB) 4- 7
6 Triglav (SVN) 4 – 6
7 Medvescak (CRO) 5 – 4
8 Zadar 1952 (CRO) 4 – 3
9 Nais (SRB) 5 – 2
10 Zemun (SRB) 4 – 1
11 KPK Korcula (CRO) 5 – 1
Second and third stage
In the second stage, the teams will be split into two groups according to the standings after the first stage.
Composition of the groups of the second stage (February 14 – 16)
Group C: Primorje, Valis, Cattaro, Zemun, KPK Korcula.
Group D: Vojvodina, Proleter, Triglav, Medvescak, Zadar 1952, Nais.
The teams that didn’t play in the same group in the first phase will face off in the games of the second stage.
In the third phase, the teams that didn’t play each other in the first two stages will face off.
For all results, live scoring, schedules, rosters, more information visit our new website www.regionalnavaterpololiga.com, powered by Total Waterpolo and Total Waterpolo Arena.
The Premier League begins in Belgrade on Wednesday (Group A). The first round in Group B (Split) will be played on Thursday.
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