Radnicki are one win away from the Serbian League title after beating Novi Beograd 13:11 in Belgrade to take a 2:0 lead in the best-of-five final series.
The Kragujevac-based side, chasing their third national championship, can now secure the title in front of their home crowd in Game 3.
Radnicki produced a disciplined defensive performance and punished Novi Beograd’s mistakes from the beginning. By the third quarter, the visitors had opened up a six-goal lead, before Novi Beograd launched a late comeback and cut the deficit to just one. However, Radnicki held firm, with captain Andrija Prlainovic scoring a decisive goal in the fourth period to stop the hosts’ momentum.
The result was also Radnicki’s first away win over Novi Beograd in more than three and a half years, since a 15:14 victory in October 2022.
Novi Beograd scored first from a man-up situation, but their extra-player struggles quickly became a major problem. After taking a 1:0 lead, the hosts missed six man-up chances in the first half, while Radnicki were far more clinical. The visitors went on a 6:1 run to move 6:2 ahead by the 15th minute, with Novi Beograd only managing to pull one back through Viktor Urosevic before halftime.
The difference in conversion was clear: Radnicki scored five of their six man-up opportunities in the first half, while Novi Beograd converted just one of seven.
Radnicki continued to dictate the tempo after the break. Nikola Dedovic stretched the lead to 9:4 on the counterattack midway through the third quarter, before Angelos Vlachopoulos made it 11:5 with a fine finish. The visitors later led 12:6, but Novi Beograd refused to surrender.
Milos Cuk scored just before the end of the third quarter to make it 12:7, sparking a major comeback. Novi Beograd then scored four goals in the opening three minutes of the final period, cutting the gap to 12:11. Radnicki also lost Dusko Pijetlovic early in the fourth quarter after a red-card exclusion with substitution.
Novi Beograd had possession to equalise, but failed to convert. Moments later, Prlainovic restored Radnicki’s two-goal lead at 13:11 with 4:28 remaining. From there, Radnicki refocused defensively and saw out the win without conceding again.
2026 Serbian League playoffs
Final, Game 2
Novi Beograd – Radnicki 11:13
Quarters: 2:3, 1:3, 4:6, 4:1
Series: Radnicki lead 2:0
Novi Beograd scorers: Cuk 3, Lukic 2, Urosevic 2, Martinovic 2, Sulc 1, Pjesivac 1.
Radnicki scorers: Prlainovic 3, Jaksic 3, Vapenski 3, Vlachopoulos 2, Pijetlovic 1, Dedovic 1.
Sabac claim bronze
Sabac won the bronze medal after defeating Crvena Zvezda twice in the best-of-three third-place playoff series.
After a convincing 16:8 home victory in Game 1, Sabac sealed the series with a dramatic 11:10 away win. Aljosa Macic scored the winning goal just seven seconds before the end.
Third-place playoff
Sabac – Crvena Zvezda 16:8
Quarters: 4:2, 6:2, 3:2, 3:2
Crvena Zvezda – Sabac 10:11
Quarters: 2:3, 4:2, 2:3, 2:3
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