Jadran failed to pull off a sports miracle and place among the four best teams in Europe, but Novljan bid an honorable farewell to the elite competition, as they did not lose in their pool against one of the best teams on the Old Continent.
Primorje advances thanks to the victory in the first match (12:11).
Primorje was in the lead throughout the match, and Jadran got the result thanks to the most experienced players, Miloš Šćepanović, Danijel Premuš and Vladimir Gojković.
"Realistically speaking, Primorje is a much better team than us. We played a great game on the road, but we didn't repeat that here, especially at the start of the game when we played worse defense and conceded a lot of easy goals. However, we got back into the game, we were drawn by the atmosphere and the home pool, but it turned out that without adequate substitutions, we cannot cope with such a strong opponent for the entire match. In the end, we even had a chance to reach extra time, in which everything is possible, but one unlucky goal and a couple of lost balls, it was decided that the stronger rival deserves to go further", said the captain of Jadran, Vladimir Gojković, who spent the entire match in the game and, apart from the position of the game organizer, spent almost half of the game at the back, guarding Fran Paškvalin at two meters.
The small pool of players available to Novljan's coach, Ivica Tucak, proved crucial. On the other hand, Rijeka's group of excellent individuals knew how to constantly control the game, but they had a two-goal advantage on only three occasions. First in the 19th minute, when Garcia beat Šćepanović 7:5 from the penalty box after two consecutive personal fouls by Beltrame, and then in the 26th minute, Denes Varga's goal with an extra player (Premuš sent off) made it 9:7. That exclusion of Premuš angered the audience, from where a chair flew at the Greek judge Stavropoulos.
"I expected a tough match. I knew that Jadran was very strong and particularly inspired at home. It is a team that is well led by Ivica Tucak, who is a top expert and it is difficult to beat him.
The stake was high and hence the expected nervousness, which characterized the game. I think we deservedly made it to the final four, because we led throughout the match and had a significant advantage. The match turned a bit the moment the referee was injured, because then he slightly changed the refereeing criteria.
If it wasn't for that, Jadran probably wouldn't have won a draw either - Zoran Roje, coach of Primorje, summed up his impressions from the match.
Uncertainty began with the guests' third advantage of two goals, when they led 3,57:11 with 9 minutes before the end, and had an attack with more players. Two defenses in one attack by Šćepanović left hope for Jadran. Phenomenal reactions of Jadran's goalkeeper, as if they gave the team from Škver a boost, so with goals from Sarić, and then from Premuš 48 seconds before the end, Novljani managed to equalize. This was followed by an attack from Rijeka, which captain Samir Barać finished imprecisely, but all hopes for overtime were extinguished when the ball bounced off the crossbar into the hands of the visitors, who deservedly go to the end of the Euroleague.
Jadran – Primorje 11:11 (4:4, 1:2, 2:2, 4:3)
Herceg Novi - Igalo Institute pool. Spectators: 1.000. Referees: Gomez (Italy) Stavropoulos (Greece). More players: Jadran 10 (4), Primorje 6 (3). Peterci: Primorje 2 (2)
Jadran: Šćepanović (13 saves), Sekulić 1, Sarić 2, Tešanović, Vidović, Latinović, Krizman, Gojković 4, Premuš 4, Baničević, Beltrame, Tomašević, Kandić.
Primorje: Car (4 saves), Buljubasic, Paškvalin, Krapić 1, Denes Varga 3, Franković, Muslim 1 (1), Jelača 1, Danijel Varga 1, Barać, Šetka 1, Garsia 3 (1), Radić.
Bonus video:
