The semifinals of the Serbian League playoffs have started, with Radnicki and Novi Beograd winning the first games of their best-of-three series.
Novi Beograd, which entered the playoffs from 3rd place in the regular season, had a more demanding task than Radnicki. The Belgrade-based side played an away match against Sabac, the participant in the VRL League F4, and recorded a 13:9 victory.
Novi Beograd started quite well, with two goals from Nikola Lukic. Then, Sabac took control by going on a 3:0 run, establishing a 3:2 lead in the first quarter. In the middle two periods, Novi Beograd, led by Nikola Lukic (6 goals) and Vasilije Martinovic (3 goals), secured the victory. The visitors had a 7:6 lead at halftime. Sabac leveled at 7:7 early in the second half, but Novi Beograd responded strongly, scoring four unanswered goals and heading into the final period leading 11:7. The Belgrade-based side maintained the difference until the end. Sabac’s best scorers were Ognjen Stojanovic and Aljosa Macic with three goals each.
Radnicki outplayed Crvena Zvezda, 15:6. Due to injuries and illnesses, Crvena Zvezda arrived in Kragujevac with only eight field players and two goalkeepers. Radnicki played without Nikola Dedovic, Nikola Jaksic, Strahinja Rasovic, Boris Vapenski. But the hosts’ rejuvenated team ruled the field. Radnicki built a 10:0 lead in the first quarter and a half. Crvena Zvezda got on the scoreboard only in the 14th minute. After a 10:1 first half, the following two periods were balanced. Valiko Dadvani scored four goals, and Veljko Doncic scored three goals to help Radnicki achieve a 15:6 victory.
The series continues on Sunday.
2026 Serbian League, playoffs
Semifinals (best of three), 1st games
Sabac Elixir – Novi Beograd Tehnomanija 9:13 (3:2, 3:5, 1:4, 2:2)
Radnicki – Crvena zvezda 15:6 (7:0, 3:1, 1:3, 4:2)
5th-8th place playoffs, semifinals (best of two)
Partizan and Valis advanced to the 5th-place game, thus qualifying for the Conference Cup in the 2026/27 season.
1st leg
Zemun – Partizan 15:25 (4:8, 5:6, 4:5, 2:6)
Nais – Valis 15:18 (4:3, 4:3, 3:5, 4:7)
2nd leg
Partizan – Zemun 20:5 (5:1, 5:1, 7:2, 3:1)
Valis – Nais 22:14 (6:2, 4:4, 7:7, 5:1)
More articles about the Serbian water polo
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