Much like five and a half years ago in Barcelona, the Montenegrin water polo team finished sixth at the European Championship.

Following another significant defeat, this time against Italy in the quarter-finals at 14:8, the “sharks” faced Greece in their final match in Zagreb, where they lost 15:10.

A sluggish start set the tone for the game, favoring the Greeks. Despite a poor first quarter in which they conceded six goals and fell behind by four, Montenegro kept pace with their opponents until the closing minutes. At that point, their performance began to crumble…

When they had the momentum, Vladimir Gojković’s team squandered several opportunities in the second and part of the third quarters to get back in the game. They eventually narrowed the gap to 9:8 via Miroslav Perković, but by then they had already paid for their earlier lapses.

Greece adeptly defended against the Montenegrin surge, ensuring that there was no turnaround, though the final margin of five goals seems inflated given the events of the match.

Overall, the national team faced another high-level competition, where they fell short of medal contention. However, during the group stage, they demonstrated their capability in matches against heavyweights like Spain and Croatia, showing they could compete with medal favorites.

To become a competitive force in the future, they must replicate this performance during knockout stages. Their next opportunity comes in less than three weeks at the World Cup in Doha…

Against Greece, Aleksa Ukropina, Marko Mršić, and Kanstantin Averka each netted two goals, while Draško Brguljan (his sole goal of the European Championship), Perković, Đuro Radović, and Vasilije Radović contributed one goal each.

Konstadinos Genidounias was the standout player for the Greek team, scoring four goals. He had previously been a key player against Montenegro in the World Cup quarter-finals this summer, netting five goals in that match.

MONTENEGRO – GREECE 10:15 (2:6, 3:2, 2:1, 3:6)

Zagreb – Swimming pool on Sava. Spectators: 400. Referees: Kovač-Čatloš (Hungary), Sehurana (Spain). Power plays: Montenegro 10 (7), Greece 5 (4). Penalties: Montenegro 2 (1), Greece 3 (2).

Montenegro: Lazović, Brguljan 1, Perković 1, Averka 2, Mačić, Popadić, Mršić 2, Đ. Radović 1, Ukropina 2, Vujović, Matković, V. Radović 1, Tešanović (six saves).

Greece: Cerdevas (seven saves), Genidounias 4, Skubakis 1, Kalogeropoulos 2, Fudulis, Papanastasiu, Dervisis, Argiropoulos 2, Alafrakis, Kakaris 1, Nikolaidis 2, Gilas 3, Corcatos.