The sixth and final round of the Euro Cup group stage provided a lot of excitement, including numerous goals and a few unexpected results.
Ortigia emerged as the winner of the day, securing an impressive 18:12 victory over Primorac in Kotor and claiming second place in Group D.
Vasas confirmed second place in Group B. These two teams joined Barcelona, Tourcoing, BVSC, Primorje, Savona, and Panionios, which qualified for the eighth finals earlier.
In addition to Ortigia’s triumph, a surprise was Primorje’s commanding 19:10 win over BVSC. The Croats climbed into first place in Group C thanks to this convincing victory.
Both Primorje and Ortigia managed to overcome big deficits from the first matches against Primorac and BVSC, respectively.
Euro Cup, Group Phase, Day 6
Group A
Solaris – Barcelona 9:15 (2:5, 3:3, 2:4, 2:3)
Solaris: Pelicaric 4, A.Petkovic 3, R.Akrap 1, Bulat 1.
Barcelona: Daura 4, Valls 3Veich 2, Ramon 2, Andrade 2, Goma 1, Alegre 1.
Played earlier: Telimar – Tourcoing 9:10.
Everything in this group was decided before the last match, Solaris – Barcelona. The Spaniards confirmed they were the best team in this group with a convincing win.
Standings: 1. Barcelona 15, 2. Tourcoing 10, 3. Telimar 6, 4. Solaris 5.
Group B
Honved – Savona 5:6 (0:1, 2:1, 2:3, 1:1)
Honved: Kevi 1, Zs. Ekler 1, B.Ekler 1, Simon 1, S.Hessels 1.
Savona: Djurdjic 1, Erdelyi 1, Rizzo 1, Bruni 1, Campopiano 1, Guidi 1.
Vasas – Apollon 19:15 (4:4, 4:3, 6:3, 5:5)
Vasas: S.Rasovic 4, Batori 4, Dedovic 2, Randjelovic 2, Burian 2, Lakatos 2, Selley-Rauscher 1, Dala 1, Batizi 1.
Apollon Smyrnis: Bogdanovic 5, Troulos 3, Shushiashvili 2, Gardikas 2, Chonrdokoukis 1, Tottis 1, Solanakis 1.
Savona cemented 1st place with a narrow win over Honved in Budapest. Only three goals were scored in the first 12 minutes. In the middle of the second quarter, Honved led 2:1 and was keeping its eight-final hopes alive. But Savona replied with a 3:0 run, earning a 4:2 lead. Honved leveled at 4:4. Still, the hosts didn’t go further. Savona rebuilt a 2-goal advantage. In the 26th minute, Bogdan Djurdjic made it 6:4. Immediately after, Zsombor Ekler set the final score – 5:6. The defenses dominated in the remaining five and a half minutes.
Today’s second Euro Cup match in Budapest, Vasas – Apollon, started 45 minutes after the clash between Honved and Savona ended. Since Honved lost, the final standing was determined – Savona secured 1st and Vasas 2nd place. Vasas and Apollon played relaxed and didn’t care much about defense, but Vasas proved which team the favorite was.
Standings: 1. Savona 15, 2. Vasas 13, 3. Honved 8, 4. Apollon 0
Pot 1 (3rd-placed in the CHL groups): Sabadell, Crvena Zvezda, Jug, Spandau 04
Pot 2 (4th-placed in the CHL groups): Steaua, Dinamo Tbilisi, Jadran Herceg Novi, Vouliagmeni
Pot 3 (the Euro Cup groups’ winners): Barcelona, Savona, Primorje, Panionios .
Pot 4 (the 2nd-placed in the Euro Cup groups): Tourcoing, Vasas, BVSC and Ortigia.
The eighth-finals (March 8 and 23) and the quarter-finals (April 6 and 27) will be played on a home-and-away basis. The best four teams will play in the Final Four (May 17 and 18).
Group C
Primorje – BVSC 19:10 (4:4, 5:1, 5:3, 5:2)
Primorje EB: Paparic 4, Te Riele 3, Kadivec 2, Tonicic 2, Da.Brguljan 2, Cubranic 2, Crippa 2, Brubnjak 1, H.Burburan 1
BVSC Zuglo: Tatrai 3, Cs. Meszaros 2, Gal 2, M.Meszaros 2, Csapo 1.
Sabac – Waspo 98 14:4 (3:2, 4:1, 4:1, 3:0)
Sabac Elixir: Stojanovic 7, Dragovic 2, Stanic 1, Macic 1Novakovic 1, Repanovic 1, Barac 1, Stanic 1.
Waspo 98 Hannover: Basic 2, Gansen 1, Lozina 1.
Primorje climbed atop the group thanks to an excellent finish in the match that decided 1st place. Before the duel in Rijeka, BVSC had three more points than Primorje, which the Hungarians beat by nine goals (13:22) in Budapest. After the first quarter, it seemed that BVSC would remain 1st. But, Primorje started building a big advantage in the second quarter. Still, before the final period, a 9-goal win was still far from the Croats, who entered the fourth quarter leading 14:8. Two minutes and 13 seconds before the final buzzer, seven goals separated the rivals (17:10). Then, Primorje scored two goals within 46 seconds, earned a 19:10 advantage and kept it until the end. Each team won 12 points, and the aggregate score in their encounters is 32:32. But Primorje has a better score in the matches against 3rd-placed Sabac (3 points and a +2 goal difference vs. BVSC’s 3 points and 0 goal difference) and a better total goal-difference.
Sabac took revenge for a 6:12 loss in Hannover. The Serbs, led by unstoppable Ognjen Stojanovic, demolished the club that was a regular participant in the Champions League for several seasons.
Standings: 1.Primorje 12, 2. BVSC 12, 3. Sabac 9, 3. Waspo 98 Hannover 3
Head to head: Primorje – BVSC 19:10 and 13:22. Primorje has a better score against 3rd-placed Sabac and a better goal-difference than BVSC (+13 vs. +6)
Group D
Primorac – Ortigia 12:18 (2:3, 4:6, 2:5, 4:4)
Primorac: Gopcevic 4, Mrsic 3, Vico 2, Vuckovic 2, Vukasovic 1.
Ortigia: Inaba 6, Cassia 4, A.Condemi 3, Cupido 2, Di Luciano 1, Bitadze 1, Ferrero 1.
Trieste – Panionios 9:8 (3:2, 2:1, 3:1, 1:4)
Trieste: Mladossich 3, Buljubasic 1, M.Vrlic 1, Valentino 1, Dasic 1, Razzi 1, Marziali 1.
Panioios: Moskov 3, Gkiouvetsis 2, Grammatikos 1, Gounas 1, Ukropina 1
Few believed Ortigia could reach the round of 16 and record a big win in Kotor. Primorac sank Ortigia in Sicily – 14:9, which indicated that the Montenegrins would avoid a big defeat and, at least, keep 2nd place. Today, the Montenegrins had to defend that 5-goal victory to remain in the position 2. A win by 5 goals in Kotor would be enough for Ortigia to overtake Primorac because it has a better score than the Montenegrins in the matches against 1st-placed Panionios. Already in the opening minutes of the second quarter, Ortigia earned a 3-goal lead (5:2) and proved it was able to make a feat. Ortigia, which led 9:6 at halftime, opened the third period with four straight goals in less than three minutes and jumped to 13:6. From that point on, the difference was never smaller than three goals. Marko Mrsic gave Primorac some hope by converting a man-up for 12:17 in the 31st minute. However, Ortigia controlled the match. Cassia set the final score – 18:12 with 55 seconds left on the clock. The man of the match was Japanese Yusuke Inaba, who scored six goals for the winning team.
Panionios lost to Trieste, but thanks to the outcome of the match in Kotor, the Greeks remained atop the group. Trieste, which had nothing to get or lose in this match, had a 5-goal advantage midway through the third period (8:3). Panionios cut the deficit to one goal (8:9) when it was too late – 12 seconds before the end.
Standings: 1. Panionios 11, 2. Ortigia 9, 3. Primorac 9, 4. Trieste 7.
Head to head: Ortigia – Primorac 9:14 and 18:12.
