Sports weekend preview

The sports weekend began last night, with Hajduk’s basketball players opening it by playing a fifth-round playoff game in Serbia’s First Regional League. Playing away in Srbobran, they beat Srbobran 101:74; the halftime score was 52:38 in Hajduk’s favor. Although they played without their most experienced player, Bajić, as well as Lješević and Cvetićanin, Hajduk’s basketball players performed very well, controlling both the play and the score throughout and winning convincingly in the end. This was Hajduk’s fifth consecutive playoff victory. They are currently second in the standings with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses, and in the sixth playoff round, scheduled for April 2, they will host Stara Pazova.

In the 19 round of the Serbian League Vojvodina Group championship, Hajduk’s footballers will host Stari Grad from Bačka Palanka in Kula. As Hajduk head coach Željko Račić likes to say, the upcoming match is another relegation play-off for his team. Hajduk’s footballers are aware of this and say they will do everything they can to win and improve their chances of staying in the league for the rest of the season. The Hajduk–Stari Grad match will be played tomorrow at the “Milan Sredanović” stadium, starting at 15.

The nineteenth round of the Sombor District League will feature a municipal derby. Rusin host Crvenka in Ruski Krstur. The match is very important for the Krstur side, as a win would keep them in the race for second place, which leads to a promotion playoff, while Crvenka, after three consecutive wins, want to extend their successful run. All things considered, an exciting contest can be expected. Our third District League team, Lipar, travel to Gložan to face Budućnost. These matches are scheduled for Sunday and will kick off at 15.

In the 16 round of the Sombor Intermunicipal League, First Division, Polet will host Dunav from Bački Monoštor in Sivac. The visitors are bottom of the table, so anything other than a win for the Sivac team would be a major surprise. Mladost will host Omladinac from Deronje in Kruščić, while Kula travel to BSK in Bački Brestovac. The players from Kula must win if they want to stay in the race for first place. These matches are also scheduled for Sunday and will start at 15.

After a break for the EHF week, the handball championship resumes this weekend.

In the 16 round of the Super B League championship, both of our representatives are playing away. Crvenka’s handball players travel to Kikinda to face league leaders Kikinda. Given the teams’ positions in the standings and the fact that Kikinda is playing at home, Kikinda’s handball players are the favorites. The Kikinda–Crvenka match will be played tomorrow, starting at 19. Our other representative, Sivac 69, travels to Apatin. This is a clash between teams that know each other very well; several Apatin players have represented Sivac, so an interesting and closely contested match is to be expected. The Apatin–Sivac handball match is also scheduled for tomorrow and will start at 18.

In the sixteenth round of the First League championship for women’s handball, a municipal derby is on the schedule, as hosts Laki and visitors Krule from Sivac will meet in Crvenka. Buoyed by their victory in the previous round and the fact that they are playing in front of their home fans, Laki’s players say they will do their best to win, while recognizing the strength of their opponents. The Laki–Krule match will be played tomorrow at the “Slobodan Čile Mišković” hall in Crvenka, starting at 18.

In the 20 round of the Second League championship, Hajduk’s volleyball players host Srem Iton from Sremska Mitrovica. This is an opportunity for Milorad Lazić’s team to move up one place from their second-to-last position with a possible win. That would be a significant boost in the fight to avoid relegation, and with the expected support from the stands, Hajduk’s volleyball players say they are ready to achieve this goal. The match between Hajduk and Srem Iton from Sremska Mitrovica will be played on Sunday in the Petefi Brigade Elementary School gym, starting at 19.

In the 21th round of the First Vojvodina League championship, Hajduk’s bowlers host SPENS from Novi Sad in Vrbas. The Kula team leads the table, and must win to remain in first place. The match between Hajduk and SPENS of Novi Sad will be played in Vrbas on Sunday, starting at 16.

Đ. Bojanić