Radnicki lead Novi Beograd 2-0: 'Three match-points to defend the throne'
The Kragujevac water polo players on Sunday in Belgrade won 13-11; the third game is on Thursday in Sumadija, where Stevanovic has a chance for a seventh title.
At the Banjica pool in Belgrade, after Game 2 on Sunday evening, Radnicki fans from the east stand, like an echo of the last quarter, sang a chant dedicated to the city mayor Aleksandar Sapic. “Pumpaj, pumpaj,” rang out for an hour after the match, while the mayor had already left the stand with his security entourage. The Kragujevac water polo players had earlier won 13-11, putting them three match-points away from defending the Serbian championship title.
Radnicki lead 2-0 in the Water Polo Super League final series, played to three wins. Game 3 is on Thursday at 17:30 in Kragujevac, at the pool on Djeram Klijoski Seher, where Uros Stevanovic’s team has a chance to win a seventh title in the last nine seasons.
How did Radnicki turn the game around in Belgrade?
Novi Beograd in the third quarter of Game 2 was playing in turnaround-attempt mode after losing the first two quarters, but Radnicki, with Filip Filipovic at centre and Vladimir Misovic at the side-attack position, produced a 6-4 run in the third quarter that decided the match. In the final quarter the Belgrade side tried to come back with a 4-1 run in their favour, but could not draw level on the score.
Filipovic, who at 38 is still the main factor in the Kragujevac attack, scored 5 goals in Game 2 from 7 chances at centre. Misovic added 4, while goalkeeper Vladimir Zizmic stopped 12 shots, a high average for a series of this format. On the other side, for Novi Beograd, Strahinja Rasovic led with 3 goals, while Dusan Mandic, who returned to Banjica after two seasons at Olympiacos, had just one goal from 28 chances from a central position.
On penalty shots, the water polo equivalent of free throws in basketball, Radnicki in Game 2 converted 4 of 6, a high rate for a series of this format. Novi Beograd had 2 of 5, with Bogdan Djurdjic scoring both from a sub-central position. The officiating in the last quarter prompted criticism from coach Vladimir Vujasinovic, who after the game told Telesport that “some decisions were unfair on my players, especially the exclusions that put us into a numerical deficit in the closing stretch”.
What next, who is favourite in Game 3?
The statistics in the Serbian Water Polo Super League say that in the last 10 years a series in which one team leads 2-0 has been won 88 per cent of the time by the leading side. Radnicki in that context has a huge advantage, especially with Game 3 played at their home pool in Kragujevac. Stevanovic in a morning statement to Mozzart Sport said he “does not want to calculate ahead, but in Kragujevac we always play better, the atmosphere is wind in our backs”.
Novi Beograd, after two consecutive titles in 2024 and 2025, would now have to turn the series around from a position from which it has never been done in the history of Serbian water polo. Coach Vujasinovic had three key players with minor injuries at the back end of the season, which is now being paid for in the final series. Marko Radulovic and Stefan Mitrovic in the last game played with bandages on their shoulders, which for the position they play in water polo means reduced mobility in swimming.
In statistical terms, Filipovic after Game 2 brought his play-off season average to 3.8 goals per match, which for a 38-year-old is an outstanding result. With a win in Game 3, Radnicki would lift a seventh title since coach Stevanovic took the bench in 2018, which in the context of Serbian club water polo is a dominance similar to the one Pro Recco used to enjoy in the Italian league.
On the personal side, I give Radnicki an 82 per cent chance of winning Game 3. Filipovic in the Kragujevac atmosphere is always at his peak, and Zizmic in goal is at 56 per cent saves in the play-offs, which is taxing for someone who has been a Serbia international for 16 years. Novi Beograd would have to turn the series around, but with Mandic out of form and injuries on the second line, the chances of overcoming a 1-2 deficit are minimal.
The third final game is on Thursday at 17:30 in Kragujevac. If Radnicki win, a seventh title in the last nine seasons.
