The Montenegro men’s water polo team defeated Serbia 14:13 in the second round of Group A and, with two victories, secured a place in the semi-finals of the Mediterranean Games. The “Sharks” defeated Greece in their opening match of the tournament. They will play their final group-stage match against Slovenia in two days’ time.
In a match full of momentum shifts, Montenegro overcame a three-goal deficit from the third quarter to secure an important victory on the road to a medal.
“Once again, we had fluctuations, particularly in the third quarter, and we simply cannot seem to resolve that. It is as if we always give our opponents a head start and then have to chase the result. We are satisfied with the result, but not with our performance,” head coach Dejan Savić said.
Montenegro established the crucial two-goal advantage in the final quarter. Serbia had the final possession with a chance to equalise, but the “Sharks” defended well to prevent the match from going to penalties.
“Serbia played their recognisable game. They were aggressive in both directions. Once again, we had a drop in the third quarter and fluctuations that we need to reduce if we want to play at a high level. I am proud of my teammates because, after the drop in the third quarter, we managed to come back and lift ourselves as a team, which led to this result,” Balša Vukčević said.
Excellent day for Dukić — Milivoj Dukić and Ilija Marković completed the fifth and sixth sailing races. Dukić finished second in both races and, after six races, sits third in the overall standings. Marković finished 10th in the fifth race and 9th in the sixth, and currently sits 16th overall.
Mixed team misses out on final — Kristina Popović and Miloš Božović completed their appearance in the mixed team qualification in the 10m air rifle event. The Montenegrin pair finished 18th with a score of 619.7.
PHOTO and VIDEO gallery – Team MNE @ Taranto 2026 – https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD2GR8