Thanks to Cupic and Dibirov, PPD Zagreb win the all-Croatian semi-final against Nexe clearly 32:26. 

PPD Zagreb did not have any problems making it to their fifth final in the history of the SEHA – Gazprom League. On Friday night the team of head coach Ivica Obrvan took a clear 32:26 (16:11) victory in the first semi-final of the SEHA Final 4 in Zadar, Croatia. The best scorers were Ivan Cupic (7) and Timur Dibirov (6) (PPD Zagreb) and Luka Moslavac, Tomislav Severec and Marin Jelinic with each four goals for Nexe.

After winning the trophy in 2013, PPD Zagreb had been finalists in 2018, 2019 and 2021 – and now they hope to raise the prestigious trophy for the second time. Their final opponent will be decided in the second semi-final later, when defending champions Telekom Veszprem (HUN) lock horns with Macedonian Final 4 debutants Eurofarm Pelister. 

Semi-final 1:
Nexe (CRO) vs PPD Zagreb (CRO) 26:32 (11:16)

Despite the great support from their “green wall” on the stands in Kresimir Cosic Arena Zadar, Nexe was chanceless in the first semi-final. Like at their debut at the SEHA Final 4 in 2019 in Brest, they lost their semi-final against domestic opponents PPD Zagreb – and in 2022 the result was even clearer than three years ago when PPD Zagreb had taken a 28:23 victory.

At Zadar, PPD Zagreb had the better start, but their opponents immediately improved and leveled the result. But in the 17th minute, Nexe’s coach Branko Tamse was already forced to take his time-out, as his side was down by 6:10, mainly because of missing too many chances. On the other hand, PPD Zagreb goalkeeper Dino Slavic did a great job as well as Ivan Cupic, who scored five of Zagreb’s first eleven goals.

As Slavic clearly won the goalkeeper’s duel against Moreno Car and Dominik Kuzmanovic before the break and Nexe’s scoring efficiency remained below par, the margin increased to six goals for the first time at 14:8 with five minutes left in the first half.

“We have to minimize our technical mistakes and improve in defence,” was Tamse’s mission for his players for the second half. But nothing changed, as local hero Luca Lovre Klarica even extended the gap to seven goals at 21:14. With Cupic still on fire and new arrival Timur Dibirov showing a strong performance, Zagreb managed to seal the deal early – as latest as the 47th minute when the score was 26:19, the winners were confirmed. Nexe’s comeback came too late to endanger PPD.

After three SEHA Final 4 matches at two events, Nexe is still waiting for their first points, but hopes for a victory on Sunday, while Zagreb took one of the highest semi-final victories in the history of the competition. The SEHA Final 4 semi-final record is still Vardar’s 33:24 in 2018 against Brest.

Photo credit: kolektiffimages