Croatia remain unbeaten in the EuroLeagueM
Report
Croatia collected yet another victory in the 2023 Golden #EuroLeagueM after doing their job right against Portugal. On Saturday, the players of head coach Igor Juricic proved to be the better team, claiming a 3-1 win (24-26, 22-25, 25-22, 22-25). This is the fourth success for the Croats in the League round.
The Croatian players, who in 2023 grabbed the bronze medals from the competition, will now have time to rest before the next tournament on home soil as on Friday, they will face off North Macedonia.
Portugal, on the other hand, have one more match in Romania as on Sunday they will lock horns with the hosts of Romania.
The matchup between Portugal and Croatia continued exactly 115 minutes, and, to the delight of the fans in Traian Sports Hall in Valcea (ROU) was full of nice plays and spectacular rallies.
The two sides started following each other in the score right after the first referee whistle. The Portuguese were showing good play in the centre, but led by Marko Sedlacek, the Croats could take the leadership position. Portugal weren’t giving up easily, but in a cat-and-mouse game, Croatia showed nerves of steel for 26-24, emerging victorious.
Inspired by the positive outcome in the first set, Croatia controlled what was happening on the court in the second set, leading comfortably (16-10). Portugal got a late “wake-up call” (20-22), but the Croatian players did not let any surprises for 25-22.
The team coached by Joao Jose brought back the intrigue in the match, winning the third set, showing resilience in the deciding moments for 25-22.
However, Croatia also were determined to show their best and did not lose their motivation. It was again a close call throughout most of the time in the next set, but the team from the Balkans proved to be more precise and closed the match at 25-22.
Statistically, the Croats showed better performance from the serving line - six to three aces. Portugal recorded more points from attack (58 to 49 winning spikes), but let too many own errors affect the score: 30 to 20. On blocking, the two sides performed equally: nine pieces each.
Marko Sedlacek topped the charts with 20pts. (48% exc. in attack). Petar Dirlic added 19 (42% exc. in attack). For Portugal, Nuno Marques recorded the most: 17 pts. (48% exc. in attack).