Montenegro defeated Greece 16:14 in its opening match of the water polo tournament at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto. With this victory, the Montenegrin team took an important step towards the semi-finals. The “Sharks” will face Serbia next, followed by Slovenia in the final group-stage match.
“We secured our first victory and can be somewhat satisfied. We had an unusual situation, as it took us an hour and 15 minutes to travel from the Mediterranean Village to the pool, so we were unable to prepare properly for the match. We cannot be satisfied with our performance, but I hope that in the future we will have a normal journey to the pool, improve certain things and play better against Serbia, where I expect us to win,” Strahinja Gojković said.
Dušan Banićević was Montenegro’s top scorer with four goals, Jovan Vujović scored three, while Balša Vučković, Danilo Stupar and Strahinja Gojković scored twice each. Đuro Radović, Aljoša Mačić and Aleksa Ukropina also found the net.
“From the very beginning, I saw a disastrous approach, and you cannot play like that. We simply had our typical fluctuations. Conceding 14 goals against this Greece team – I think that says it all. It is time for criticism and for us to wake up. We trained for three months for this competition, and if the players do not understand where they are and what this is, we might as well go home,” head coach Dejan Savić said.
Dukić second in the third race — Two more sailing races were completed. Milivoj Dukić finished second in the third race and tenth in the fourth. Ilija Marković finished 14th in both races.
The Montenegrin sailors will have a rest day tomorrow.
Božović 19th in the 10m air rifle — Miloš Božović did not progress from qualification in the 10m air rifle event. He finished the competition in 19th place with a score of 619.7. “I would rate my performance as a weak five out of ten. A lot of effort and investment went into this, but the result was not at the required level. It was not my day, although I did not make any major mistakes either. It came down to small margins in the inner rings, which is simply not enough in shooting today. On Sunday, I will compete with Kristina, and I think we have better prospects,” Božović said.
Jovanović completes his appearance in Taranto — Montenegro’s tennis players have completed their appearances at the Mediterranean Games. Petar Jovanović was defeated 6:3, 6:4 in the round of 16 by Spain’s Sánchez Quílez, the fourth seed at the tournament. “I am satisfied with the match. I had my chances and missed several break points in the first set. On the other hand, my opponent played the important points better. I would like to thank NOC Montenegro, as well as the Tennis Federation of Montenegro, for giving me the opportunity to take part in the tournament,” Jovanović said.
PHOTO and VIDEO gallery – Team MNE @ Taranto 2026 – https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD2GR8
