Slovenian derby goes to Branik, first win for Calcit Water Polo
The second day of the fifth Alpe Waterpolo League tournament in Rovinj featured a Slovenian derby between Branik Maribor and Ljubljana Slovan. Victory went to the Maribor side, who remain the only unbeaten team in the league. Kamnik’s Calcit Water Polo also celebrated their first win of the season after defeating Torpedo Sarajevo. In a tightly contested match, Koper-Hanna overcame the resistance of the home side Delfin, while in the final game of the tournament day Kostrena defeated Triglav Kranj after a better penalty shootout.
The sixth and final tournament of the regular season of the Alpe Waterpolo League will take place on 28 February in Rijeka. Before that, three postponed matches will be played. Ljubljana Slovan will host Zagreb’s Medveščak this Wednesday, 4 February, at the Ilirija Pool, while Medveščak will visit Triglav Kranj on 19 February. Ljubljana Slovan will then face Zagreb’s Mladost on 26 February, again at the Ilirija Pool.
Torpedo – Calcit Water Polo 10:20
(3:9, 0:3, 3:5, 4:3)
Referees: Suhadolnik, Homovec
Torpedo: Beglerović, Serdarević; Kerkić, Parača, Redžepagić 4, Pašić 1, Ajanović 2, Džehović 3, Danis Bašić, Čarković, Rožajac, Danin Bašić, Piknjač, Kedić.
Head coach: Anas Džehović
Calcit Water Polo: Kapič, Hribar; V. Brišnik, G. Brišnik 2, Cerar 1, Gledec 2, Lukić, Kordež 2, Blažević 2, Zdravković Gligorovski 3, Erce 2, Osolnik 3, Bergant 3.
Head coach: Gašper Senica
The opening match of the second day brought together two teams still searching for their first win of the season. Instead of a close contest, the match was effectively decided in the first quarter, as Calcit raced to a 4–0 lead after less than three minutes of play. By the end of the quarter, their advantage had grown to six goals, and at halftime the score already stood at 12–3.
Early in the final quarter, Maksim Zdravković Gligorovski scored his third goal to give Calcit their largest lead of the match at 19–6. Torpedo managed to slightly reduce the deficit by the end, but the outcome was never in doubt. Alongside Zdravković Gligorovski, Rudi Osolnik and Rok Bergant each scored three goals for the Kamnik side, while Emir Redžepagić led Torpedo with four goals.
Branik Maribor – Ljubljana Slovan 24:18
(5:5, 7:4, 8:5, 4:4)
Referees: Kavčič, Homovec
Branik Maribor: Zaninović, Kulenović; A. Šantak 1, M. Šantak 5, Pajnik 1, Miletić 3, Kačič 3, Pevec 3, Hadžić 3, Bašić, Kazagić 3, Rajšp 3, Brčić 2, Bucalo.
Head coach: Milan Mitrović
Ljubljana Slovan: Karničar, P. Kirasič; Petrović 2, Čanč 2, Potočnik 3, Klobučar 1, Lipnik 5, Povhe 2, B. Kirasič, Rašljić, Četković 3, Petković, Zohil, Kašćelan.
Head coach: Jure Škof
After a convincing win over Calcit on Saturday, Branik Maribor also came out on top in the second Slovenian clash in Rovinj, defeating Ljubljana Slovan in a rematch of last season’s national championship final. Once again, Branik scored 24 goals, but this time they had to work much harder for the victory.
Slovan were without their first-choice goalkeeper Jure Beton and Jošt Čarni, yet they proved to be a worthy opponent in the opening quarter. Early in the second period, goals by Matic Lipnik and Matija Bernard Čanč during power-play situations gave Slovan a 7–5 lead. Branik responded with a 4–0 run, turning the score around to 9–7 and heading into halftime with a three-goal advantage.
The match was decided midway through the third quarter when Gašper Pajnik scored to make it 16–10. With the win, Branik Maribor moved another step closer to securing first place at the end of the regular season.
Delfin – Koper-Hanna 11:13
(2:4, 5:3, 0:3, 4:3)
Referees: Homovec, Suhadolnik
Delfin: Ljubenko; Čikić 7, Radić, Krevatin 1, Kusanović, Gržinić 1, Grilec 1, Gavrilović, Bonassin, Mamontov, Poropat, Peruško 1, Milošević.
Head coach: Goran Volarević
Koper-Hanna: Bressan; Janošević 1, Radunović 1, Pencelj, Milošević, Fabič 2, Sulić 1, Fičur 1, Raffaele, Lazić 5, Bulatović, Jačimović 2, Koprivica.
Head coach: Blaž Ćeklić
On Saturday, Delfin claimed their second win of the tournament, while Koper-Hanna had earlier fallen to Vienna’s Ströck. Against the home side, Koper started strongly and led by two goals at the first break after a strike by Lazić. Another goal by Lazić midway through the second quarter extended their lead to 6–3, but Delfin managed to draw level by halftime.
Excellent defensive play in the third quarter allowed Koper to regain a three-goal advantage, and a five-meter goal by Lazić early in the fourth quarter made it 12–7. However, the match was far from over, as Gregor Čikić scored four consecutive goals to bring Delfin within one goal at 11–12. The final score was set just 15 seconds before the end by Uroš Fabič. Čikić was the top scorer of the match with seven goals, while Lazić added five for the Koper victory.
Kostrena – Triglav Kranj 16:14
(4:3, 3:5, 1:2, 4:2; 4:2 penalties)
Referees: Kavčič, Suhadolnik
Kostrena: Seveljević, Krolo; Vuković 2, B. Galić 1, Sotošek, Radić, I. Galić, Nemet, Jurić 1, Marsanić 2, Abramović 1, Gulan, Šunjić 1, Cuomo 4.
Head coach: Kristijan Šunjić
Triglav Kranj: Smolič, Udovč; Berič, Kadivec 1, Cvijanovič Tepina, Lah 4, Gostić, Justin 1 (pen.), Paunović, Vončina 1, Cerar 1, Troppan 4, Vujanović, Marinič.
Head coach: Krištof Štromajer
After a convincing win over Calcit on Saturday, Triglav Kranj faced a much tougher challenge on Sunday. Kostrena, for whom this was the only match of the Rovinj tournament, proved to be a very demanding opponent. The match was crucial for both teams, as neither had yet secured a place in the Final Tournament, with Ströck Wien closely following behind.
Triglav led by a narrow margin at halftime and extended their advantage to 10–8 before the final break. Kostrena quickly turned the tide in the fourth quarter, taking a 11–10 lead after a goal by Jurić. Aljaž Troppan scored twice to put Triglav back in front, but Igor Cuomo equalized less than three minutes before the end.
With no further goals in regular time, the winner was decided by a penalty shootout. Kostrena were more accurate, converting four penalties, while only Justin and Aleksander Cerar scored for Triglav.
Alpe Waterpolo League standings
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Branik Maribor – 30 points (10 matches)
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Opatija – 21 points (8 matches)
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Mladost – 21 points (9 matches)
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Ljubljana Slovan – 20 points (8 matches)
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Triglav Kranj – 17 points (9 matches)
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Kostrena – 17 points (9 matches)
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Ströck Wien – 15 points (9 matches)
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Koper-Hanna – 9 points (9 matches)
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Delfin – 6 points (10 matches)
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Medveščak – 3 points (6 matches)
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Calcit Water Polo – 3 points (10 matches)
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Torpedo – 0 points (11 matches)
Written by: Miha Štamcar
Photos by: Gašper Pajnik
