Serbia played as well as they should have, defeating the immature Israel in the third round of the “C” group of the European Championship 19:9 (4:3, 5:3, 3:1, 7:2). The Olympic winner secured first place and now awaits in the second group the French with the brilliant Verneuil, the world vice-champion Hungary and finally Montenegro coached by Dejan Savić. All three victories lead to the semifinals, all other combinations depend on other results.
Scorers: Strahinja Rašović four, Petar Jakšić and Viktor Rašović three, Martinović, Drašović, Lukić and Randjelović two, Nikola Jakšić one for Serbia, Gross, Rendler and Gvishi two, Klarfeld, Begin and Schlein one each for Israel.
It’s difficult to play games against weak rivals, especially after the disappointment of the match with Spain. Mandić was not suspended, Stevanović did not use the services of Ćuk.
Filipović was in goal for three quarters (7 – 14), Nikola Jakšić first found himself in the center and then dealt with the organization of the game and assists. The first two goals were scored by Viktor Rašović, the hero of the victory against Spain. He was joined by Lukić and Martinović. Relaxation after 4:1 was punished with two goals from the rival. It took “we’ll do it easily” and after Drašović’s goal from the penalty spot, the Israelis managed to equalize. In the next 70 seconds, the Jakšić brothers took care of three balls in the Israeli net, Petar two, Nikola one. This difference remained at halftime.
The game was poor in the second half, there was no goal in the Israeli net for a long time. The attack did not work, the player did not play either. The monotony was interrupted after five minutes by an incorrect substitution by the Israelis, which was punished with a five-pointer and then a goal by Martinović. By the end of the quarter, the Rašović brothers had two assists for Randđelović for 12:7 before the final half. In the final eight minutes, Glušac defended very well, and the Serbian attack worked as it should, and Strahinja Rašović stood out with counterattacks. In the last attack, Stevanović played with seven players in the field. The excellent Petar Jakšić scored the sixth five-pointer for Serbia, the third in this half. Drašović put the end to the game. In the end, a result that satisfied both the winners and the losers.
Israel – Serbia 9:19 (3:4, 3:5, 1:3, 2:7)
Arena Pool. Referees: Colombo (Italy), Radić (Slovakia). Player more: Israel 6 (1), Serbia 13 (7). Peterci: Israel 2 (2), Serbia 6 (6)
Israel: Fire, Schlein 1, Gross 2, Gwishi 2, Shafrir, Begin 1, Goldschmidt, Roth, Rendler 2, Bouzaglo, Klarfeld 1, Smirnov, Carmon, Shariri.
Serbia: Filipović, S. Rasović 4, Randjelović 2, Ćuk, Lazić, Drasović 2, N. Jaksić 1, Vico, Dedović, P. Jaksić 3, V. Rasović 3, Glušac, Martinović 2, Lukić 2.
