Dubrovnik water polo club Jug AO thus won their 17th Croatian title on Tuesday night and 39th national champion title in total. It is also the 66th overall trophy for the club.
In the fourth game of this year’s Croatian championship final playoff, Jug defeated Jadran Split on penalties at their pool in Gruž, thus ending the series with 3:1 for Jug.
The result was 6:6 after 32 minutes of play, forcing the match into penalties. All four Jug players were accurate with their shots, while Marin Delić and Jerko Marinić Kragić did not score for Jadran.
It was a meeting with few goals, dominated by goalkeepers on both sides, and Jug held a 5:4 advantage from the end of the third quarter until a minute and a half before the end of the match. Then, Konstantin Kharkov scored for 5:5, which was Jadran’s first goal after almost 14 minutes of play. Rino Burić then gave Jadran a 6:5 advantage 35 seconds before the final buzzer, i.e., one step closer to the decisive fifth game.
However, Jug started the last attack with seven attackers, which paid off because Hrvoje Benić equalized for 6:6 nine seconds before the end. The game was then decided on penalties, as was the first game, and Jug was more successful in the shootout once again.
Just before the Croatian champion medals and trophies were distributed, individual awards and trophies for the 2021/22 season were presented in Dubrovnik:
Jerko Marinić Kragić (Jadran) was named the top scorer in the Croatian Championship (63 goals)
Toni Popadić (Jug) was named the best goalkeeper in the Croatian Championship
Konstantinos Kakaris (Jug) was named the best player in the Croatian Championship.
Congrats to both Jug and Jadran on a season well done!
Source: HVS
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