The match Jadran HN – Radnicki was the highlight of the morning session of Day 3 of the Regional League. Both clubs are in the hunt for the Final Four berths. Radnicki celebrated a 7:4 victory and made a big step towards the final tournament.
Favorites made no mistakes in two games played in Belgrade this morning and afternoon. Jadran Split bested Partizan (12:6), while Mladost defeated Primorje (13:11).
2020/21 Premier Regional League, semifinal groups, Day 3, morning/afternoon session
Group A (Belgrade)
Partizan – Jadran S 6:12 (3:4, 3:3, 0:2, 0:3)
Partizan: Barac 2, Schofield 1, A. Mitrovic 1, Zivojinovic 1, Andrin 1.
Jadran Split: Marinic-Kragic 3, Setka 3, Buric 2, Milradovic 2, Delic 1, Duzevic 1.
Mladost – Primorje 13:11 (2:1, 4:4, 4:3, 3:3)
HAVK Mladost: Bukic 5, J. Vrlic 3, Buslje 2, Kharkov 2, Radu 1
Primorje EB: Paparic 4, Brubnjak 2, Augusti 2, Blazic 1, Babic 1, Car 1.
Partizan took an early 1:0 lead gainst Jadran, but after that, Jadran dictated the pace. Still, a young team of Partizan (which played without Stefan Mitrovic) kept up with the favorites for a while. Deep into the second quarter, the Serbs equalized for the last time (5:5). Then, Jadran built a 7:5 lead. In the last second of the first half, Partizan reduced the gap (6:7), but they didn’t score a single goal after the middle break. Jadran recorded a convincing victory and got very close to the Final Four.
The encounter between Mladost and Primorje was similar to the match Partizan – Jadran S. A favorite won, but the first half was quite balanced. Mladost needed a lot of time to break Primorje. Mladost gained a 2:0 lead and led for most of the time. But Primorje managed to come back and to equalize three times (3:3, 4:4, 5:5). Mladost, led by Luka Bukic, built a 4-goal lead in the 22nd minute (10:6). The Rijeka-based side halved the distance (8:10 and 9:11). Three minutes before the end, Mladost regained a four-goal lead (13:9) and secured the three points. Primorje fought hard until the end and cut the deficit.
1 Mladost (CRO) 3 – 9
2 Jadran S (CRO) 3 – 8
3 Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 3 – 7
4 Partizan (SRB) 3 – 3
5 Primorje EB (CRO) 3 – 0
6 Sabac (SRB) 3 – 0
Day 3 (evening session): Partizan – Crvena zvezda (17:00), Primorje EB – Sabac (18:50), HAVK Mladost – Jadran S (20:40)
Group B (Dubrovnik)
Jadran HN – Radnicki 4:7 (0:0, 3:2, 0:3, 1:2)
Jadran Herceg Novi: Averka 2, Da. Radovic 1, Vucurovic.
KVK Radnicki: Stanojevic 2, Jankovic 1, Ukropina 1, Pljevancic 1, Milicic 1, Lukic 1.
There were no goals in the first quarter of the defensive battle between Jadran and Radnicki. Jadran’s Uros Vucurovic scored the opener in the first possession in the 2nd quarter. Radnicki equalized immediately, but Jadran earned a 3:1 lead by the middle of the quarter. However, after that, Radnicki kept Jadran scoreless for 19 minutes. The Serbs’ defense worked very well (goalkeeper Lazar Dobozanov collected 13 saves). Jadran, which played without injured Djuro Radovic (who missed yesterday’s game against Primorac, too), couldn’t find holes in Radnicki’s defense. The Kragujevac-based team equalized after 23 seconds of play in the third quarter (3:3). It continued its series of goals, which was completed two and a half minutes before the final buzzer when Stanojevic converted a man-up for 7:3. After Radnicki’s 6:0 run, Averka scored a consolation goal for Jadran.
Everything is still open. Radnicki will have two challenging tasks until the end – against Jug and Primorac, while Jadran will face Solaris and Budva.
1 Jug (CRO) 3 – 9
2 Radnicki (SRB) 3 – 9
3 Jadran HN (MNE) 3 – 3
4 Primorac (MNE) 3 – 3
5 Solaris (CRO) 3 – 3
6 Budva BR (MNE) 3 – 0
Day 3 (evening session): Jadran HN – Solaris (17:00), Primorac – Budva BR (18:50), Jug AO – KVK Radnicki (20:40).
