The past sports weekend was full of interesting events

In the season’s top-of-the-table clash in Serbia’s First Regional League, Hajduk’s basketball players lost 101:60 to Joker in Sombor, with the halftime score 48:33. Hajduk coach Danilo Borivić said the home side deserved to win and had shown why they were the leading favorites for promotion. However, he regretted that his team had matched the favorites for three quarters, but then ran out of energy when they needed to get fully back into the game, and Joker won the final quarter by 36:10. According to coach Borivić, Đurović, Suvajdžić and Tešović were Hajduk’s best performers. In the final game of the group stage on Friday, Hajduk will host Nova Pazova, after which they will compete in the playoff group for the championship, entering it in second place.

Sivac’s women’s basketball team lost 82:56 to Titel away from home in round 13 of the Serbian First Regional League championship. The Sivac team were evenly matched in the first half, as the score of 36:30 shows, but they faltered in the third quarter, losing it 29:12, which settled the outcome. Sivac’s women have 5 wins and eight losses and are sixth in the standings. In the next round, they host Srem from Sremska Mitrovica.

Last weekend was unsuccessful for Hajduk Volleyball Club. Hajduk’s men’s team, which competes in Serbia’s Second League, played away in Kikinda, where they lost 3:0 to league leaders Kikinda, with set scores of 25:12, 25:16 and 25:18. The Kikinda side justified their status as favorites, and Hajduk coach Milorad Lazić said it was one of his team’s poorer performances; with poor serve reception and a lack of concentration, nothing more could have been expected. In the next round, Hajduk’s men will host West from Šid in Kula on Sunday. In the 10 round of the First Vojvodina League, Hajduk’s women’s team lost 3:0 to Vrbas in a local derby in front of their home fans in Kula, with set scores of 25:21, 25:16 and 25:19 in Vrbas’s favor. It seems Hajduk’s women entered the match with too much respect for their opponents and played nervously, resulting in numerous errors and an inevitable defeat. In the next round, Hajduk’s women travel to Subotica.

Hajduk’s bowlers beat Eđšeg from Bačka Topola 6:2 on points, or 3395:3302 in total pinfall, in a postponed match in the 13 round of the First Vojvodina League, played away in Stara Moravica. Hajduk’s points came from Branko Vuksan with 597, Marko Eraković with 588, Vladimir Trišić with 578 and Duško Adžić with 564 pins, while Kula earned two points thanks to their higher total pinfall. Hajduk’s bowlers are currently second in the standings with 20 points, and will host Golubinci in the next round.

Our other sports clubs used the past weekend to assess their work during the preparation period in friendly matches.

Crvenka’s handball players, members of the Super B League, took part in the ninth annual Drago Jovović Memorial Tournament, organized by Vrbas Handball Club in honor of its legendary player Drago Jovović. Crvenka lost 40:29 to Jugović from Kać in the semifinal, with the halftime score 20:13. The difference in quality was clear, and it should also be noted that Crvenka were depleted, having lost Perović, Vukadinović, and Tasić during the transfer window; captain Radonjić was also absent from the lineup against the Kać team. On the second day of the tournament, Crvenka played Subotica’s Spartak in the third-place match. Spartak won 28:19, despite Crvenka taking the first-half lead 13:11. Crvenka therefore finished fourth at the Drago Jovović Memorial, while the tournament was won by Jugović from Kać, who defeated hosts Vrbas 32:26 in the final. Our other Super League team, Sivac 69, took part in the 14th annual Nemanja Stambolija Memorial Tournament, held in Apatin on Saturday. The one-day tournament consisted of two 20-minute halves. In the semifinal, Sivac 69 defeated Derventa 25:20, then lost 20:14 to hosts Apatin in the final. Sivac were short-handed at the tournament, without the Šajin brothers, Slavuljica, Klasan, Popov, and Džabasan, and also without Kalić for the final. Coach Branko Žeželj says the matches were useful tests and that he expects the squad situation to improve over the next week, as the spring race for points begins next weekend.

As part of their preparations for the spring half of the season in the Serbian League, Vojvodina group, Hajduk’s footballers played away in Bečej, where they beat the home side, Bečej, 3:0. Ivanović scored twice for Hajduk, with Vlaisavljević also getting on the scoresheet. Hajduk’s next warm-up match will be on Wednesday, when they visit Mladost in Turija. Crvenka’s footballers, who compete in the Sombor District League, beat Njegoš from Lovćenac 1:0 at home in their first friendly, with the goal scored by Raja Jovanović. Next weekend, Crvenka will play two warm-up matches, on Saturday and Sunday. Their opponents will be Dinamo from Bački Breg and Kordun from Kljajićevo. Our other district-league side, Lipar, lost 3:0 at home to Iskra from Kucura. Lipar will take on Novi Sad’s Železničar on Sunday. Our third district-league team, Rusin from Ruski Krstur, played away in Odžaci, where they beat OFK Odžaci 3:1. Rusin’s goals were scored by Sajanković, Filip Vujović and Sušić. On Sunday, the team from Krstur will host a combined Kula Hajduk squad in Ruski Krstur. Sivac’s Polet played two matches last weekend. First, they lost 1:0 to Sutjeska in Bačko Dobro Polje on Saturday, then lost 3:2 to Đurđin in Sivac on Sunday. Polet fielded combined squads in both matches, and Sivac’s next warm-up will be on Wednesday, when they host Sombor’s Radnički. Mladost and Kula met in a friendly in Kruščić. Kula won 3:2.

Đ. Bojanić