Croatian U-16 Water Polo Team World Champions After Comeback Against Spain
Croatia's U-16 water polo team defeated Spain 10:7 in Zagreb to claim the world title. Duje Srzić scored the equalizer, and Deni Sappe was named the tournament's best player.
Croatia's U-16 water polo team defeated Spain 10:7 in Zagreb to claim the world title. Duje Srzić scored the equalizer, and Deni Sappe was named the tournament's best player.
Croatia's U-16 water polo team has won the world championship title. In the final of the World Championship held at the Mladost swimming pool in Zagreb, the young 'Barakudas' defeated Spain 10:7, thus crowning their performance at the home tournament in the best possible way.
This is the second world gold for Croatia's younger age groups in just 37 days, following the U-18 team's world title in Portugal a little over a month ago. Interestingly, the link between these two generations is Deni Sappe, a player from Zagreb's Mladost, who has now been named the best player of the entire championship.
The final match was extremely tight and tense. In the first three quarters, neither team managed to lead by more than a single goal. Three and a half minutes before the end, the Spanish took a 6:7 lead from a counter-attack, but that seemed to only further ignite the home team. Duje Srzić, a player from Zadar 1952, scored from an outside position to make it 7:7, showing courage at the crucial moment.
In the continuation, birthday boy Luko Vezilić, who celebrated his 16th birthday in Zagreb on Sunday, became a force to be reckoned with. He started winning balls in defense, and in attack, Ante Domazet scored to make it 8:7. In the final minute, Deni Sappe's goal for 9:7 secured the title, and Patrik Kundid, who did a lion's share of work in defense, set the final score at 10:7 in the last seconds.
After the match, individual awards were also presented. Ante Domazet was named the best player of the final, the best goalkeeper was American Alistair Sterrett, and Deni Sappe took home the title of the best player of the entire World Championship. In the match for third place, Serbia defeated the USA in a penalty shootout.
Head coach Bruno Sabioni did not hide his emotions after winning the gold. "After all the past month of preparations, problems, and effort, you know when I slept best and most peacefully? The last two nights! Because we were finally complete, because we had agreed on everything. The most peaceful two days of my life. Because I knew, I believed in what we had done before. Well, good things come to those who wait. I knew because we play at home, we just had to be ourselves, calm, and here it is," Sabioni said.
"I won gold with the U-18 boys, but I didn't play there because I was sick the entire Championship. So it's logical that I'm even more satisfied now. I'm full of emotions, I feel great, I don't even know how to react. I can't wait to celebrate with the boys now. After Egypt and the quarterfinal win, we felt here that we could go all the way, that we are the best," said Deni Sappe, the best player of the World Championship.
