Serbia and Montenegro, which have been preparing for the World Championships together for several days, played a friendly match in the Japanese city of Kashiwazaki.
Serbia recorded a 14:11 victory in a game with a few twists and turns.
Friendly match, Kashiwazaki
Serbia – Montenegro 14:11 (4:5, 3:1, 3:4, 4:1)
Serbia: Radulovic 3, Milojevic 2, Drasovic 2, Vucinic 2, S.Rasovic 1, Randjelovic 1, Lazic 1, Ubovic 1, Jaksic 1
Montenegro: Dj.Radovic 3, Popadic 2, Perkovic 2, Averka 1, Djurdjic 1, Vujovic 1, Matkovic 1.
Serbia had an early lead, but Montenegro went to 5:3 deep into the first period. The Serbs produced a 3:0 run for a 6:5 lead. Montenegro leveled at 6:6. Still, Serbia was 7:6 up at halftime.
The Montenegrins were a better rival in the third period and regained a 2-goal advantage (10:8). Then came a 4:0 series by the Serbian team, which caught up with Montenegro in the dying seconds of the third period (10:10), and added two goals after the last break for a 12:10 advantage. Montenegro’s Vujovic made it 11:12. Still, Serbia’s Drasovic had the last word, he scored the last two goals in the game and Serbia recorded a 14:11 victory.
The two teams will meet again in nine days – on July 21 in the third round of Group D of the World Championships in Fukuoka. Besides the Balkan neighbors, world champion Spain and South Africa are in Group D. Serbia will open the tournament with a match against Spain. Montenegro will face South Africa in the first round on July 17.
For more news and the schedule about the upcoming Worlds, visit Total Waterpolo’s 2023 World Championships page.
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