The ninth edition of the annual memorial tournament for water polo legend Tomo Udovičić concluded on Sunday. The prestigious competition attracted numerous clubs from the most significant water polo countries in Europe. The last six days at the pool in Gruz featured 48 teams and 144 matches in two age categories.
The young athletes got to experience playing in front of some of the most accomplished referees and officials of the sport while being able to measure their skill on a grand international scale.
U12 Category – Jadran Carine from Herceg Novi takes the title
In the U-12 category, Jadran Carine from Herceg Novi came out on top. In the final, the players from Montenegro crushed their opponents Pallanuoto Salerno 13: 5 (3: 0, 3: 1, 4: 0, 3: 4).
In the 3rd place, the Italians Zero9 Roma bested Primorac 10: 6 (1: 0, 2: 0, 3: 3, 4: 3) securing the bronze medal.
The MVP trophy ‘Ivo Ivaniš’ in this category went to Jadran Carine’s Strahinja Gojković. Salerno’s semi-final hero Daniele Garletta was declared the best goalkeeper, as he took his team to the finals halting four penalties in the semi-final match. Top scorer of the U-12 tournament went to Maxim Cseh from Hungary’s Szolnoki, who scored an incredible 33 goals for his team.
U14 Category – Roma VIS Nova defeats Jadran Split for the Gold
The U14 crown went to the Italian boys from Roma VIS Nova, who wrestled down the Croatians from Jadran Split 10:7 (2:1, 5:3, 1:1, 2:2). In a hard-fought match, the Italians managed to break away in the 3rd quarter with a 4-goal lead, a distance Jadran would not manage to close anymore.
In the bronze medal match, hosts Jug Dubrovnik defeated their Hungarian guests from Szolnoki 10:8 (3:1, 2:3, 2:2, 3:2). In a close game, Jug managed to push a 3-goal spread one-and-a-half minutes before the end, securing the bronze in front of their home crowd.
The ‘Ivo Ivaniš’ MVP trophy for the best player of the tournament went to Roma’s Luca Provenziani, who showed outstanding skill throughout the whole tournament as well as contributing three goals to their final success. Tomislav Stričević from Jadran Split was declared the best goalkeeper of the competition. Top scorer in the U14 category went to Balsa Vučković, the deadly striker from Primorac (30 goals).
