Radnicki cemented 1st place in the Premier VRL League regular season.
The Kragujevac-based side beat Primorac at home, 15:9, in one of the 12th-round derbies and secured the top spot two rounds before the end of the regular season.
Novi Beograd ran over Buducnost in Podgorica, 16:6. Partizan achieved its second win in the season by beating Crvena Zvezda 12:9.
The round will be closed by a clash between Jadran and Sabac in Herceg Novi on Sunday.
As of today, Radnicki is the only team that has qualified for the Final Four. Jadran, Sabac, Primorac, and Novi Beograd are still competing for the remaining three spots. The dates and host of the final tournament are expected to be confirmed soon.
2026 Premier VRL League, Round 12
(quarters 4:2, 3:4, 4:2, 4:1)
Radnicki was almost always ahead of Primorac in today’s derby, but the Kotor-based side kept up with the Serbian champion for nearly three quarters.
Primorac managed to level the score three times during the match. The first equalizer occurred in the 5th minute when Balsa Vuckovic scored from a counterattack, making it 1:1. Valiko Dadvani quickly responded by adding an extra player. Strahinja Rasovic then scored two 6 on 5 goals during, extending Radnicki’s lead to 4:1. However, Primorac fought back and erased a three-goal deficit, tying the game at 5:5 and then at 6:6 in the second quarter. Radnicki entered the second half with a narrow 7:6 advantage, as Angelos Vlachopoulos converted a man-up opportunity with just five seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Strahinja RasovicPhoto by KVK Radnicki
Dusko Pijetlovic doubled the hosts’ advantage in their first possession in the second half. Radnicki’s defense managed to shut out Premier League’s best scorer Marko Mrsic. Balsa Vuckovic was well guarded, too. But, Djuro Radovic took more responsibility in Primorac’s attack. He halved his team’s deficit twice in the third period (7:8 and 8:9). At the finish of the third quarter, Nikola Jaksic scored two goals, and Radnicki started breaking Primorac’s resistance. Early in the fourth quarter, the hosts prolonged their series of goals, going to 14:8 in the 27th minute and practically ending the contest.
The home team had an almost perfect power-play conversion rate, scoring 10 goals on 12 attempts. Primorac converted two of its five man-up shots.
Radnicki’s Strahinja Rasovic, Nikola Jaksic and Primorac’s Djuro Radovic topped the scorers’ list with four goals each. As in the Euro Cup match against Barcelona, Radnicki’s starting goalkeeper was New Zealand’s Bea Peter Tainui Fountain, who posted 11 saves in the first three quarters. Stefan Todorovski replaced him in the final period.
(quarters 1:5, 2:4, 1:5, 2:2)
Novi Beograd left no chance to Buducnost. The visitors took an opening 3:0 lead. Buducnost got on the scoreboard in the fifth minute, but Novi Beograd ruled the field. Eight minutes later, the Serbs, led by Nikola Lukic, who scored three goals in the first half, were 8:1 up. Buducnost reduced the gap to five goals twice (3:8, 4:9). Following the hosts’ fourth goal, Novi Beograd went on a 5:0 run and reached a double-digit margin (14:4) before the final quarter.
Aleksa Ukropina (Novi Beograd) Photo by Filip Roganovic
Nine players of Novi Beograd got on the scoresheet, with Nikola Lukic and Kristijan Sulc scoring three goals each for Novi Beograd. David Stevovic netted four for Buducnost.
(quarters 3:1, 3:3, 3:2, 3:3)
The match between Partizan and Crvena Zvezda was very important for the Serbian Championships. With the victory over Crvena Zvezda, Partizan improved its chances of finishing in 6th place in the Premier League, which would allow it to qualify directly for the semifinals of the national league’s playoffs as the 4th-placed Serbian club in the VRL league.
Partizan is still three points behind Crvena Zvezda. However, If it beats Buducnost at home in the next round, it will likely catch up with Crvena Zvezda in points. The “Black and Whites” have a better head-to-head score than Crvena Zvezda, which beat Partizan by two goals in the first half of the regular season.
Partizan’s Vuk Conkic (white cap) and Crvena Zvezda’s captain Dusan Markovic Photo by Slobodan Sandic
Partizan led throughout the match. The first quarter was a defensive battle. Partizan opened the scoring in the 5th minute, and doubled its advantage to 2:0 with 43 seconds left in the first period. The teams quickly exchanged the goals. Crvena Zvezda chased Partizan and managed to narrow its deficit on a few occasions in the second and third periods (3:4, 5:6, 6:7). Partizan scored two goals in the 24th minute. Luigi Canepa made it 10:6 in the 27th minute. That 3:0 run was crucial for Partizan’s victory.
Conkic, Cutajar, Canepa and Djokanovic scored two goals each for Partizan, and Dankovic was Zvezda’s best scorer with three goals.
Sunday, March 1
Standings
- Radnicki 12 – 31
- Primorac 12 – 25
- Novi Beograd Tehnomanija 12 – 23
- Sabac Elixir 11 – 22
- Jadran m:tel 11 – 22
- Crvena Zvezda 12 – 9
- Partizan 12 – 6
- Buducnost One 12 – 3
Visit the Premier League’s page on Total Waterpolo Arena for the live scores, schedule and standings.
You’ll find the First League’s schedule and results on First League’s page on Total Water Polo Arena
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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
