It was a real Croatian derby in Našice but spectators did not witness a surprise with PPD Zagreb confirming dominance in Croatia. It however was not easy for Vujović' team at all and it is great to conclude that each Croatian derby is on higher level than the previous one.

Hosts have from the beginning started proving what they were talking about before the match - that they are not afraid and well prepared for this, especially with Stepančić and Šušnja unfortunately missing. They have managed to even catch +2 with 11:9 on scoreboard but unluckily for them what came up next was Zagreb' 0:5 series bringing them +2 with Ivić' buzzer save to end first 30 minutes.

In the second half Zagreb started playing better slowly enlarging the gap to +5. It almost seemed that guests have in that period cruised too far and that NEXE will not be able to catch them but Kordi's guys have in the last 10 minutes managed to find an additional energy boost which was mostly visible in defence bringing them to only -1 with Božić-Pavletić' goal less than half a minute before the end. Zagreb's experienced players have managed to keep the ball safe until the end keeping 28:27 advantage which brings them important three points.

Interesting is that Zrnić was 6/6 from 7-meter line and on the other side Raković also did not make a mistake scoring 3/3.

Zdenko Kordi, NEXE's coach:

My team played very well 20 minutes in the beginning and last 10 minutes. In the end I was hoping that we might reach at least one point but there was not enough time. We've today showed character and aggressiveness but it was still visible that Zagreb are a team with higher level of quality than we are at the moment.

Tibor Jurjević, NEXE's player:

We did not surrender until the final whistle. Unfortunately we've missed some clear chances which could have brought us at least a point today.

Veselin Vujović, PPD Zagreb's coach:

NEXE have today proved to be a good rival not only for Zagreb but for all teams in the league. I really love this club and these people. We've managed to creat a bit of advantage in the beginning but ruined it with some technical mistakes. Match was interesting and narrow until the end.

 

Tin Kontrec, PPD Zagreb's player:

I can say I'm satisfied with our victory and some parts of the match. I am however not satisified with our performance in last 10 minutes where we've given NEXE a chance to maybe even make a stunner and surprise us. We've in the end even a bit luckier I have to say.