RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Serbia's rough start to the Olympics seems like a long time ago now. Filip Filipovic and company are headed to the men's water polo final, and they got little revenge along the way.
Filipovic, Andrija Prlainovic and Slobodan Nikic scored two goals apiece, and Serbia shut down Italy for a 10-8 victory in the semifinals on Thursday.
Serbia was a heavy favorite coming into the tournament, but the world champions played to a draw in each of their first two games and then lost 6-5 to Brazil. It recovered with four straight victories, beginning with a tight 10-8 win against Australia that played a key role in the water polo-crazy country making it out of the preliminary round at all.