Mladost secured first place in the regular season of the Croatian league, while Jadran will enter the playoffs from second position. Primorje is likely to finish third, with Jug in fourth.
Primorje largely influenced this somewhat unexpected outcome of the final week of the regular season.
After Mladost defeated Jug in Round 15, Jadran needed three points from its postponed away match against Primorje to climb to the top of the table. The reigning champon did win, but only after a penalty shootout, which was enough for second place.
Primorje led for most of the match against Jadran. In the first half, the hosts twice held a four-goal advantage (8:4 and 9:5). Late in the third period, Jadran went ahead for the first time (12:11). The visitors maintained momentum and early in the final quarter, built a 14:11 advantage. With two and a half minutes remaining, they led 16:14. However, they failed to hold on. With one second left, Snel equalized at 16:16, sending the match to a shootout. Jadran then claimed two points with a 20:19 victory, drawing level with leaders Mladost on points, but the Zagreb-based team remained atop due to a better head-to-head score.
Jadran was led by Jerko Marinic Kragic, who scored five goals, and Zvonimir Butić, with four, while Dario Rakovac and Fabio Crippa scored three each for Primorje.
In the final round, both Mladost and Jadran recorded comfortable wins, so there were no changes at the top two spots. Mladost, powered by five goals from Marko Radulovic, defeated Mornar 21:11, while Jerko Marinic Kragic scored six in Jadran’s 20:9 victory over Medvescak.
The battle for third place remained open, with Primorje and Jug, the contenders for 3rd place, meeting in the final match of Round 16. The Dubrovnik-based team started better, taking leads of 2:0 and 3:2 in the first quarter. Primorje took control in the second period and led 9:8 at halftime. During the third quarter, the hosts extended the gap to four (13:9). Midway through the fourth, Jug cut the deficit to 13:14, but Primorje did not allow an equalizer.
The Rijeka side collected three points with a 16:14 win, in which Ivan Vukojevic scored four goals, while Tin Brubnjak and Dario Rakovac added three each. Andro Buslje and Vlaho Pavlic scored three goals apiece for Jug.
Primorje is still fourth, three points behind Jug. However, the Rijeka team still has to play the postponed Round 13 match against 6th-placed Mornar. If Primorje achieves an expected victory, it will move up to third place with the same number of points as Jug, which the Rijeka-based team defeated twice this season.
2026 Croatian League
Group 1st – 6th place
Postponed match of Round 15
Primorje – Jadran S 19:20 (4:3, 5:4, 2:6, 5:3, PSO 3:4)
Round 16
Primorje – Jug 16:14 (3:3, 6:5, 5:3, 2:3)
Mornar – Mladost 11:21 (1:3, 3:7, 3:7, 4:4)
Medvescak – Jadran S 9:20 (3:5, 2:3, 1:8, 3:4)
- Mladost 15 – 38
- Jadran Split 15 – 38
- Jug 15 – 34
- Primorje 14 – 31
- Medvescak 15 – 20
- Mornar 14 – 16
Group 7h – 11th place, Round 16
KPK Korcula – Zadar 1952 9:10 (1:4, 2:4, 4:1, 2:1)
Solaris – OVK Split 25:11 (7:1, 6:4, 6:1, 6:5)
POSK 1937 bye
- Solaris 14 – 21
- Zadar 1952 14 – 21
- KPK Korcula 14 – 9
- POSK 1937 14 – 9
- OVK Split 14 – 0
Quartfinals: Mladost – Zadar 1952, Jadran – Solaris, Primorje/Jug – Mornar, Jug/Primorje – Medvescak
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
