Two encounters between squads which are in the circle of the best water polo teams in the world were on the schedule of Day 1 of the men’s water polo tournament at the 18th FINA World Championships in Gwangju.
Montenegro and Serbia shared the points in the Balkan derby – 10:10. Reigning champion Croatia killed all excitements in the 2nd big match of the day. The Croats demolished Australia – 14:4.
Italy, Hungary, Spain, Greece, the USA collected points with convincing wins.
The last match of the day had a very thrilling ending, as well as the encounter Serbia – Montenegro. The big battle between Japan and Germany ended with no winner.
18th FINA World Championships, men’s water polo tournament, Day 1
Group A
Serbia – Montenegro 10:10 (4:3, 2:2, 2:4, 2:1)
Serbia: S. Rasovic 4, Mandic 3, Randjelovic 1, Cuk 1, Dedovic 1.
Montenegro: Janovic 2, Djurdjic 2, Dj. Radovic 2, Dr. Brguljan 2, Ivovic 1, Draskovic 1.
South Korea –Greece 3:26 (0:7, 0:7, 1:3, 2:9)
South Korea: D. Kim 2, M. Kim 1.
Greece: Fountoulis 4, Kolomvos 4, Vlachopoulos 4, Genidounias 3, Gounas 3, Kapotsis 2, Dervisis 2, Argyropoulos 2, Mourikis 1, Skoumpakis 1.
Serbia came to Gwangju without 7 experienced players. Because of that fact, Montenegro was a favorite in the clash of the two neighbors. However, the young Serbs controlled the match for most of the time. Serbia grabbed an early 4:1 lead and kept the advantage until the middle of the third quarter. Three and a half minutes before the end of the 3rd period, the Serbs had an 8:6 lead. The Montenegrins scored three goals in a span of three minutes and went in front for the first time – 9:8 (0:34 before the last break). They added one goal in the 27th minute to earn a 10:8 lead.
Serbia’s left-handed Dusan Mandic found the net from a counter-attack for 9:10 (2:35 before the end) and that was a start of a real thriller in the last two minutes. Both teams had a few nice chances, but defenses did a good job. Finally, Strahinja Rasovic scored from a 6 on 4 to equalize – 10:10 with twelve seconds remaining on the clock. On the other side, Aleksandar Ivovic missed from an extra-man attack a second from the end and the match ended in a draw.
Greece taught a lesson to South Korea. The Greeks had earned a 15:0 lead before the home team scored its first goal in the 4th minute of the 3rd quarter. The Koreans were boosted by more than 2.000 spectators (despite the fact that match began at 9:50 AM), but the fans’ support didn’t help the hosts. The Greeks easily recorded a convincing win (26:3).
1 Greece 1 – 2
2 Montenegro 1 – 1
3 Serbia 1 – 1
4 South Korea 1 – 0
Group B
Croatia – Australia 14:4 (4:1, 2:1, 4:0, 4:2)
Croatia: Vukicevic 6, Benic 5, Milos 2, Macan 1, Loncar 1, Jokovic 1, Buslje 1, Vrlic 1.
Australia: Younger 2, L. Edwards 1, Power 1.
USA – Kazakhstan 16:7 (4:1, 4:2, 3:2, 5:2)
USA: Bowen 4, Hallock 3, Hooper 3, Daube 3, Cupido 1, Farmer 1, Irving 1, Vavic 1.
Kazakhstab: Medvedev 1, Shakenov 1, Pilipenko 1, Aubakirov 1, Zherdan 1, Shvedov 1, Verdesh 1.
Title-holder Croatia opened its World Championships campaign in style. The Croats didn’t leave any chance to Australia, which won the bronze medal at the World League Super Final in Belgrade in June (Croatia was second in Belgrade).
The rivals were tied in the 5th minute (1:1). After that, the match turned into a one-sided contest. Croatia, led by Ante Vukicevic and Hrvoje Benic, scored five unanswered goals to build a 6:1 lead (3:42 from the end of the second quarter). At halftime, the Croats led 6:2. In the second half, the reigning champions produced a new 5:0 series and went 11:2 up early in the last period. They even had an 11-goal lead (14:3). Vukicevic (6 goals) and Benic (5) were the top scorers in a great 14:4 victory.
The USA team dominated from the first whistle of its clash with Kazakhstan. At halftime, the Americans led 8:3. They added three straight goals in the third period for 11:3 and the Kazakhs lost their last hope.
1 Croatia 1 – 2
2 USA 1 – 2
3 Kazakhstan 1 – 0
4 Australia 1 – 0
Group C
South Africa – Spain 3:23 (1:6, 1:5, 1:4, 0:8)
South Africa: Rodda 2, Everzard 1.
Spain: Mallarach 5, Perrone 4, Tahull 4, Granados 4, Munarriz 2, Cabanas 1, Larumbe 1, Barroso 1, Bustos 1.
New Zealand – Hungary 4:24 (0:4, 1:7, 2:6, 1:7)
New Zealand: Pike 1, Lewis 1, Clark 1, Small 1.
Hungary: Zalanki 4, K. Manhercz 3, Vamos 3, Batori 3, Angyal3, Jansik 2, Varga 2, Mezei 2, Harai 1, Sedlmayer 1.
Favorites for the 1st place in the group Hungary and Spain were warming up for their clash in the 2nd round of the tournament on Wednesday.
Spain beat South Africa easily (23:3). The disparity in quality between the two sides was obvious from the beginning. The Spaniards ruled the pool. The Africans couldn’t stop Blai Mallarach (5 goals), Felipe Perrone, Roger Tahull, Alvaro Granados (4 goals each).
Hungary enjoyed an easy cruise in the match with New Zealand and also recorded a win with a 20-goal margin – 24:4. After the first half, the Hungarians had a 10-goal advantage (11:1) and doubled the advantage in the following 16 minutes.
1 Hungary 1 – 2
2 Spain 1 – 2
3 South Africa 1 – 0
4 New Zealand 1 – 0
Group D
Brazil – Italy 5:14 (3:5, 1:2, 0:5, 1:2)
Brazil: Guimaraes 2, P. Real 1, Coutinho 1, Freitas 1.
Italy: Luongo 4, Velotto 3, Di Fulvio 2, Renzuto Iodice 2, Bodegas 1, Aicardi 1, Figlioli 1.
Germany – Japan 9:9 (3:2, 4:3, 1:3, 1:1)
Germany: Stamm 3, Gielen 2, Strelezkij 1, Restovic 1, Riebel 1, Real 1.
Japan: Arai 3, Adachi 1, Koppu 1, Shiga 1, Takata 1, Inaba 1, Okawa 1.
The Italians needed some time to break Brazil. They were 5:3 up after the first period. Pedro Real reduced the gap in Brazil’s first possession in the second quarter (4:5). After that, nobody could find the net for a long time. In the last 18 seconds of this period, Italy scored two goals. Italy’s 6th goal was scored by Luongo. Than Iodice stole the ball on the center of the field, and beat the buzzer, by scoring in the last second for 7:4.
Brazil ran out of gas for the second half of the game. The Italians shot out the rival in the 3rd quarter, while they produced a 5:0 run to secure a safe 12:4 lead before the final eight minutes.
The last match of the day, an encounter between Japan and Germany, offered a big battle, with a lot of twists and turns. The Germans started very well. Early in the second period, they had a nice 5:2 advantage. The Japanese started climbing back step-by-step. The Asians came close (4:5), but at halftime, Germany was in front (7:5). Japan took control in the 3rd period, by scoring three goals in a row for an 8:7 lead 40 seconds before the last break. The Germans equalized 30 seconds later, so the sides were tied before the last eight minutes.
Japan took a new lead in the 27th minute (9:8). The Asians had a great chance to secure a win a minute and 10 seconds before the final buzzer. They earned a penalty shot, but Germany’s goalie Schenkel saved a shot from Inaba.
An equalizer came 4 seconds from the end. Julian Real put away a man-up and set the final score 9:9.
1 Italy 1 – 2
2 Japan 1 – 1
3 Germany 1 – 1
4 Brazil 1 – 0
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