Team Serbia took its FINA Water Polo World League crown back in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sunday evening as the city was hosting the Super Final from June 18-23, the last stage of the tournament which ran from October 2018 until now.
Playing at home, the Serbians defeated their biggest Balkan opponents, Croatia, by one goal, settling for a final score of 12-11 in the gold match, despite losing the first and third quarters (1-3, 5-2, 1-3, 5-3).
With this outstanding win, Serbia is the first team to secure a spot for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and pocketed its 10th World League title. Montenegro had won the 2018 edition but Serbia was the winner in 2017.
In another tight game, Australia clinched the bronze medal at stake, leaving the fourth place for Spain. The final score was also 11-10, after Australia won the first quarter but lost the second and tied in the last two (3-1, 2-3, 4-4, 2-2).
You can read a detailed report about the final day in Belgrade here and results are available here.
Men's World League Super Final rankings
1. Serbia - $100.000; 2. Croatia - $70.000; 3. Australia - $50.000; 4. Spain - $35.000; 5. Hungary - $30.000; 6. Japan - $25.000; 7. Kazakhstan - $20.000; 8. Canada - $15.000
Most Valuable Player: Filip Filipovic (SRB)
Best Goalkeeper: Marko Bijac (CRO)
Top Scorer: Inaba Yusuke (JPN) with 26 goals
You can re-watch the pool action in VoD on FINAtv and daily match reports are available on FINA website.