3/4 Placement Match

Meshkov Brest vs. PPD Zagreb 23:24 (14:13)

PPD Zagreb have once again proved to be a team ready to fight in the toughest of situations and despite their narrow loss against Vardar in the SEHA - Gazprom Final 4 semi-final on Friday (1 April) they managed to find the strength to go out on court to take their third bronze in a row after beating Meshkov Brest 24:23 to conclude their SEHA - Gazprom League season with a victory.

This third bronze follows their victory over Tatran in Novi Sad in 2013/14 and Vardar in Veszprem last season.

From the very first moment it was visible why both teams were so close to upsetting their much fancied opponents Veszprem and Vardar in the semi-finals.

Both defences were tough, working well in the first 30 minutes and there was not much space for wingers and pivots to move with back players carrying their teams. Luka Šebetić was remarkable with strikes for Zagreb, while Stipe Mandalinić and Sandro Obranović added two goals each.

The giant Latvian Dainis Kristopans was once again unstoppable with five strikes for Meshkov who was assisted by Rastko Stojković added with four, three of which were from the 7-metre line leading to a tight first half.

Zagreb were able to stay in front for the bigger part of the opening period but in the last five minutes they lacked imagination in attack resulting in technical mistakes which Kristopans wasted no time in punishing as his Meshkov side took the lead with two minutes left on the clock.

They have even had a chance to go to break at +2 but Zlatko Horvat and Sandro Obranović combined for a great kempa to raise the crowd on their feet and bring Zagreb to just a goal deficit at the break (14:13).

Meshkov were however able to keep the dominance at the beginning of the second half enlarging the gap to three (18:15) but despite that the Croatian side did not give up on their chase and made it 18:18 just over a quarter of the match left on the clock.

The most important player in turning the match upside down and then helping his side take the lead with five minutes left was Zagreb goalkeeper Ivan Stevanović who gave his side new confidence with nine second half saves.

The multiple Croatian champions however, were not able to decide the match any earlier than the final buzzer as Meshkov kept their focus and will to fight until the very end.

Stevanović was once again there to save Rastko Stojkovic’s final shot to level the match and the Varaždin Arena, full of PPD Zagreb fans, could start celebrating their team’s third SEHA - Gazprom Final 4 bronze in the past three years to take a 24:23 victory.

The amazing Stevanović finished the match with nine saves as Horvat led their attack with eight goals, four from the 7-metre line. Stojković finished top-scorer in the match for Brest with six and Ivan Pešić was once again remarkable with nine saves in total denying Zagreb’s 7-metres shooters twice.

HC PPD ZAGREB

Stevanović 8+1 saves , Ivić 5 saves ; Mihić 2, Sabljić, Vujić 1, Kontrec, Šebetić 5, Raković 1, Horvat 8 (4), Šušnja, J. Valčić 1, T. Valčić, Mandalinić 2, Obranović 2, Markoski, Pavlović 2. Coach: Veselin Vujović.

HC MESHKOV BREST

Pešić 7+2 saves, Charapenka, Patotski; Babichev 1, Kristopans 5, Kamyshyk 3, Nikulenkau, Stojković 6(3), Tioumentsev, Shumak, Vukić 1, Baranau 2, Razgor 2, Selvasiuk, Shylovich 3. Coach: Sergii Bebeshko.

MVP: Ivan Stevanović

Quotes after the match:

Veselin Vujović, PPD Zagreb coach:

"Coach Bebeshko had some injured players today so it was not easy for them and even with such a roster they’ve managed to play a good game, which was narrow.

"We were a bit luckier today than we were in semi-finals and now after everything I guess I can say this SEHA season was successful for us."

Stefan Vujić, PPD Zagreb player:

"This tough match is behind us, especially after our semi-final against Vardar which was really tough.

"We’ve in the end managed to prepare well for this, play a good match and take third place which we are, of course, satisfied with."

Sergii Bebeshko, Meshkov Brest coach:

"Zagreb played a really good match. We did not manage to beat them today as we were not able to keep our tempo and that is something we still have to work on, and advance in."

Ivan Pešić, Meshkov Brest goalkeeper:

"I can say I’m proud of my boys especially after such a tough match in the semi-finals against Veszprem.

"It is not easy to play after you lose like that. We’ve missed a bit of strength and luck to get the win, but we have what we have now.

"We’re now turning towards the Belarus championship and domestic challenges."