This summer, the U19 national water polo team of Montenegro, representing the third generation of younger athletes, competed fiercely for medals at significant tournaments.

They made headlines by reaching the semi-finals of the European Championship in Burgas, Bulgaria, overcoming Serbia in a thrilling match that ended with a score of 18:17 after a 13:13 tie in regulation time.

Under the guidance of coach Miodrag Mirović, who had already led the team to victory against the Netherlands in the round of 16, Montenegro handed Serbia their first loss of the tournament, despite the surprising turn of events during the first half of the game.

Initially, Serbia surged ahead with a 3:0 lead and then stretched their advantage to 5:1 at the start of the second quarter. However, Montenegro fought back quickly and narrowed the gap to 6:5 by halftime.

The match progressed as a nail-biter with both teams exchanging leads. Montenegro found itself in front four times, but Serbia regained a five-point cushion just 21 seconds from the end when Miljan Đokanović’s goal leveled the score at 13:13. Unfortunately, in Montenegro’s last attack, Draško Samardžić was blocked…

The match featured six rounds of penalty shootouts. Notably, Strahinja Gojković hit the crossbar during the second round, while goalkeeper Andrija Bjelic shone as the team’s hero, denying Đokanović’s shots on two occasions and propelling his team into the semi-finals.

Danilo Stupar was the standout scorer with five goals in 32 minutes, followed by Gojković with three, and Tim Perov with two. Additionally, Balša Vučković, Srđan Janović, and Nikola Petrović contributed one goal each. Janović (twice), Stupar, Vučković, and Samardžić successfully converted their penalty shots.

Montenegro will compete for a place in the final against Hungary on Friday at 16:11, who triumphed over Germany with a score of 10:XNUMX.

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