Ljubljana Slovan Claim Third Place in AWL
Water polo players of Ljubljana Slovan secured third place at the Alpe Waterpolo League Final 6 tournament held at the Pristan swimming pool in Maribor. In the bronze medal match, they defeated Opatija 16:15 (6:4, 5:4, 3:5, 2:2) after a thrilling finish.
Ljubljana Slovan – Opatija 16:15 (6:4, 5:4, 3:5, 2:2)
Referees: Kavčič, Vehovec.
Ljubljana Slovan: Karničar, P. Kirasič; Petrović 1, Čanč 3, Potočnik 5, Klobučar, Lipnik 4, Povhe, B. Kirasič, Čarni 1, Četković 2, Petković, Rašljić, Kašćelan.
Coach: Jure Škof.
Opatija: Dipić; B. Smokvina 1, Kolak, Turk 2, Peroš 2, Blažić 3, Vlah, Dujmić 3, Petrić 1, Sklepić, Margitić 3, T. Smokvina.
Coach: Marcel Lipin.
Just over a week ago, Ljubljana Slovan secured second place in the regular season with a victory over Opatija at the final tournament of the league phase, earning a direct spot in the semifinals of the Final 6 in Maribor. There they faced a strong Mladost Zagreb side, who secured their place in the final mainly with a decisive last quarter, leaving Jure Škof’s team to fight for third place.
Ljubljana started the bronze medal match determinedly. After less than two minutes, Enej Potočnik and Matija Bernard Čanč gave their team a 2:0 lead. Opatija equalized through their top scorer Lucijan Dujmić, but Ljubljana soon restored a two-goal advantage. That lead did not last long either, as Ian Petrić tied the score at 4:4. Before the end of the first quarter, Čanč and Potočnik scored again, giving Slovan a 6:4 lead at the first break.
In the second quarter, Vuk Petrović gave Ljubljana their first three-goal lead (9:6). The Croatian side did not give up and, three minutes before halftime, Patrik Turk reduced the deficit to 8:9. Marcel Lipnik and Potočnik then scored to give Ljubljana a more comfortable lead at the end of the first half.
The third quarter brought another equalizer. Former Slovenian international Marko Blažić scored for 12:12 with 67 seconds left in the period. Goals by Jošt Čarni and Luka Četković gave Ljubljana a narrow lead heading into the final break, although Bruno Smokvina equalized at 13:13 before that.
The final quarter delivered a dramatic finish. After Blažić tied the score at 14:14, Borna Margitić put Opatija in the lead for the first time in the match (15:14). Ljubljana responded quickly — Potočnik scored two consecutive goals, the second coming with 3 minutes and 33 seconds remaining, to put his team back in front at 16:15.
The score did not change until the end. Both teams still had several chances, but with 20 seconds left before the final whistle, goalkeeper Gal Karničar made an excellent save to secure third place in the Alpe Waterpolo League for Ljubljana Slovan.
