For the second time in a year, Montenegrin water polo players find themselves in eighth place at the World Championships.

In Fukuoka, their second five-a-side defeat in the tournament resulted in a lower ranking, following a loss in the 3rd round of the group stages against Serbia—this time, they fell to the United States.

The “Yankees” triumphed with a score of 17:15, after a 12:12 tie in regulation time where the “Sharks” squandered numerous chances to secure the win.

They had a significant advantage with an extra player towards the end of the third quarter, yet failed to capitalize, leading to a tense conclusion.

The match remained evenly contested throughout, with the first three periods all ending in draws (3:3, 7:7, and 10:10). In the final quarter, our team led 11:10 and 12:11 until Ben Hallok sealed the game with a score two minutes and 46 seconds from the end.

Vladimir Gojković’s squad had an opportunity to resolve the match in regular time, but during their last attack—while having an extra player—they hit the crossbar twice. Konstantin Averka and Dušan Matković were unable to find the net…

Only Stefan Vidović missed from the box, hitting the opposing goalkeeper Drew Halland in the head.

In our team, Konstantin Averka, Stefan Vidović, Miroslav Perković, and Đuro Radović were the double scorers, while Vlado Popadić, Dušan Matković, Aleksa Ukropina, and Vladan Spaić each scored once.

The outstanding center Ben Hallok led for the opposing team with four goals.

News