Radnicki, Jadran and Novi Beograd remain unbeaten after three rounds of the Premier VRL League.
Unlike the teams from Kragujevac and Herceg Novi, which had straightforward tasks in the third round, Novi Beograd earned three away points, beating Budva 16:14.
In the other derby of the round, Primorac defeated Partizan narrowly, 16:15.
The encounter between Budva and Novi Beograd was the sixth match in just ten days for both teams, which participated in the Champions League qualifiers last weekend. With this win, Novi Beograd kept its perfect record this season (6-0).
Budva quickly took a 2:0 lead, while Novi Beograd kept pace thanks to an excellent conversion rate with a man up. However, the visitors were unable to take the lead. Midway through the second quarter, Budva led 7:5, but the hosts could not maintain the same rhythm. Novi Beograd scored four unanswered goals in less than three minutes to move 9:7 ahead. The visitors maintained their advantage until halftime, leading 10:8.
Photo by Tatiana Ćorović
Budva twice leveled the score in the opening minutes of the second half (10:10 and 11:11), but Novi Beograd responded immediately on both occasions. Five goals were scored in the first three minutes before the teams went through a long scoreless spell, with the scoreboard showing 12:11. However, late in the third quarter, Novi Beograd established a more significant advantage. Vasilije Martinovic scored twice in the final 34 seconds—once from a 6 on 5 and once from a penalty—to give the visitors a three-goal lead, 14:11, heading into the final quarter. The Serbian runners-up calmly managed the game over the final eight minutes to secure the victory.
Novi Beograd was led by Vasilije Martinovic and Nikola Kojic, who scored five and four goals respectively. The visitors’ excellent efficiency with a man up was also crucial, as they converted eight of their 10 power-play opportunities.
Primorac and Partizan played demanding matches on Friday, against Novi Beograd and Budva respectively. The Kotor side appeared to have preserved more energy. They led throughout, although Partizan fought back several times.
Primorac led 4:2 at the end of the first quarter. Shortly after the start of the second period, Partizan leveled (4:4). However, Primorac then kept the Belgrade side scoreless for more than six minutes, while scoring four goals to build a commanding 8:4 lead. In the 16th minute, Partizan’s attack finally came to life, and they reduced the deficit to 5:8 and then 6:9.
Early in the second half, Djokanovic scored from distance to make it 7:9, but the hosts didn’t allow their opponents to get any closer and restored their four-goal advantage. Primorac led 14:10 heading into the final quarter and still led 15:11 with five minutes remaining.
But the game was far from over. Partizan pushed back, and with one minute and seven seconds left on the clock, the visitors cut the deficit to one (14:15). Nemanja Ubović responded to make it 16:14 and effectively seal the hosts’ win. Djokanovic scored once again with a man advantage to halve Partizan’s deficit, but only 27 seconds remained, during which Primorac kept possession and secured all three points.
Balsa Vuckovic (Primorac) Photo by Filip Roganovic
The heroes of Primorac’s first victory of the season were Djuro Radovic, who scored six goals, and Balsa Vuckovic, who added five.
The Kotor side also received support from the stands from legendary Hungarian water polo player Gergely Kiss, a three-time Olympic champion who won the Champions League with Primorac in 2009.
Sabac had to dig deep to defeat Nais in Nis. Sabac had a four-goal lead before the final quarter (12:8). However, the home side didn’t surrender and halved its deficit twice in the fourth period (10:12 and 11:13). A more experienced team of Sabac kept control of the match and recorded a 14:11 win, with four goals from Novakovic.
Radnicki defeated Valis 15:8 while fielding a heavily rotated lineup with seven young players. The Kragujevac-based side led 10:3 at halftime and maintained the advantage throughout the third and fourth quarters. Valiko Dadvani was the hosts’ top scorer with three goals.
Photo by PVK Buducnost One
As in the second round, Jadran and Buducnost collected points with convincing victories over the league newcomers.
Buducnost, powered by four goals from former Croatia captain Ivan Krapic, defeated Vojvodina 18:4. Aleksa Ukropina found the net six times in Jadran’s 30:9 win over Zemun.
2027 Premier VRL League, Round 3
(Quarters 5:4, 3:6, 3:4, 3:2)
(Quarters 4:2, 5:4, 5:4, 2:5)
(Quarters 4:1, 6:2, 3:2, 2:3)
(Quaretrs 5:2, 5:1, 3:0, 5:1)
(Quarters 6:2, 8:2, 10:1, 6:4)
(Quarters 4:6, 2:3, 2:3, 3:2)
Standings: 1. Jadran m:tel 9, 2. Radnicki 9, 3. Novi Beograd Tehnomanija 9, 4. Sabac Elixir 6, 5. Buducnost One 6, 6. Budva Budvanska rivijera 5, 7. Primorac 3, 8. Valis Vega 3, 9. Vojvodina 3, 10. Partizan 1, 11. Nais 0, 12. Zemun Vrdnik Residence 0.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
