Radnicki and Primorac will play in the final of the first edition of the Premier VRL League in Kragujevac on Sunday (20:30).
Primorac reached the final by defeating Jadran m:tel in the first semi-final, after a penalty shootout 22:20 (4:5, 3:3, 5:5, 5:4, 5:3).
The duel between the old rivals from the Boka Bay in the first semi-final was an intense fight, full of twists and turns. Late into the third quarter, Primorac trailed by three goals, but returned to the match with a 4:0 run. Jadran then made another turn to take the lead 15:14. Primorac leveled at 15:15, 16:16, and 17:17. Since after 34 goals in 32 minutes, the question of the winner was not resolved, the penalty shootout decided, more precisely, only one miss in the penalty shootout. Primorac, the only of the four participants in the F4 to win the Champions League, reached its first-ever final of a regional competition.
Radnicki, a two-time winner of the former regional league, confirmed its status as the favorite in the second semi-final against Sabac Elixir, winning 15:9 (4:2, 4:4, 2:1, 5:2). However, it wasn’t an easy win. The hosts consistently maintained the lead, but Sabac proved to be a formidable opponent, demonstrating that they deserved a spot in the final tournament. In the middle of the third quarter, Šabac was just one goal behind, at 7:8. Radnicki secured a convincing win in the final minutes, mainly because of a good defense.
2026 VRL Premier League, Semifinals
(quarters 4:5, 3:3, 5:5, 5:4, PSO 5:3)
Primorac scored an opener, but Jadran quickly turned a 0:1 to a 2:1 lead (all first three goals were with a man-up). Primorac chased its archrival throughout the first quarter, but couldn’t equalize after Valera made it 5:4 with 45 seconds left in the first period. However, the Kotor-based side got off to a very good start in the second quarter. Djuro Radovic netted twice in the first 80 seconds (one of the two goals was from a penalty shot), giving Primorac a 6:5 lead. Vasilije Radovic leveled at 6:6 from a counterattack. Gojkovic and Janovic added action goals, and Jadran earned an 8:6 advantage in the 14th minute. Jadran’s goalkeeper, Ilija Radovic, made a significant contribution to his team’s 3:0 run with several saves in that interval.
Ilija Radovic (Jadran) Photo by Elekovic
After Jadran established a 2-goal lead for the first time, the teams exchanged goals for nearly eight minutes, and that rhythm suited Jadran. At 2:40 in the third quarter, Russian player Daniil Merkulov scored a well-executed goal, extending the lead to three points at 13:10. In response, Primorac’s head coach, Athanasios Kechagias, called a time-out, which proved to be a wise decision. By the end of the quarter, Primorac had narrowed the deficit to 12:13.
Primorac kept the momentum after the last break. Djuro Radovic leveled at 13:13 in Primorac’s first possession in the fourth quarter. A minute later, the Kotor-based side forced a penalty shot. Mrsic converted it to 14:13. However, it didn’t take long before Jadran earned a new lead. Gojkovic scored from a 6 on 5 in the 28th minute, making it 15:14. The neck-and-neck race continued until the very end. Pimorac’s Balsa Vuckovic, who was guarded very well, set the final result of regular time, scoring his first goal with 57 seconds to go, making it 17:17. Both teams had chances to secure a win in regular time, but didn’t manage it. In the last second, Jovan Vujovic hit the post while Jadran had seven field players in the water. After the post, the ball didn’t cross the imaginary goal line, as referees judged.
Yusuke Inaba Photo by Slobodan Sandic
The only one who didn’t score in the shootout was Fran Valera. The Spaniard’s shot in the fourth round went too high, and that made a small but crucial difference at the end of the big battle.
Marko Mrsic, who was voted the MVP of the match, and Yusuke Inaba led Primorac’s attack with four goals. Strahinja Gojkovic had the same output at Jadran.
(quarters 4:2, 4:4, 2:1, 5:2)
Unlike the Montenegrin derby, the defenses dominated in an encounter between Radnicki and Sabac.
Sabac took the lead in its first possession. Radnicki immediately equalized, but after that, there were no goals until the 6th minute, when Prlainovic opened the home team’s 3:0 run, so Radnicki jumped to 4:1 with three goals in less than two minutes. The Kragujevac team maintained the three-goal lead until 6:3. Then, the goals from the experienced Stojanović and Repanović allowed Šabac to reduce the deficit to 5:6. However, led by Boris Vapenski, who scored four goals in the first half, Radnicki doubled its lead to 7:5, and then to 8:6 at the finish of the second quarter.
Angelos Vlachopoulos Photo by Slobodan Sandic
Sabac did not give up, reducing the deficit to 7:8. In the middle of the third quarter, the Kragujevac team rebuilt its three-goal lead (10:7) with goals by Dadvani and Dedovic. Despite nice chances at both ends, there were no goals until the end of the quarter, partly due to good performances by both goalkeepers, Filipovic (Radnicki) and Tomic, who got a chance in front of Sabac’s goal in the third period.
Andrija Prlainovic (RKG) and Ognjen Stojanovic (SAB) Photo by Slobodan Sandic
Early in the fourth period, Andrija Prlainovic gave Radnicki a four-goal lead for the first time, 11:7, from the 5m line. Still, Ognjen Stojanovic immediately responded with a very nice goal. However, Radnicki’s defense was getting stronger and stronger. Everything was decided less than two minutes before the end, when Dadvan made it 13:8 with an extra player.
Boris Vapenski topped the scorers’ list with four goals, and Andrija Prlainovic contributed three to Radnicki’s 15:9 victory. Ognjen Stojanovic netted three goals for Sabac.
Final Day, April 19
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
