Two rounds before the end of the first phase of the regular season of the Spanish League, almost all places in the group for the title (1st-6th place) are already booked.
After the 10th round, the top three teams from each of the two groups will advance to the Championship group. The others will continue the season in the relegation group.
So far, Terrassa, Barcelona, Barceloneta, Sabadell, and Sant Andreu secured their places in the higher group. The three teams are in the battle for the remaining spot.
All matches of the seventh round have been played this weekend (the 8th round was held a week ago).
2020/21 Spanish League, Day 7
Group A
Catalunya – Mediterrani 11:8 (4:3,3:3,3:1,1:1)
CN Catalunya: Ferrer 3, Linares 2, Santiveri 2, Prat 1, Gascon 1, Cuacos 1, Chmyr 1.
CE Mediterrani: Gorria 2, Corres 2, Galeev 2, Roca 1, Edwards 1, A. Garcia 1
Barcelona–Sant Feliu 24:6 (6:2,4:2,7:2,7:0)
CN Barcelona: Frigola 5, Power 4, Valls 3, Flores 2, Goma 2, Delgado 2, Tahull 2, Ramon 1, Van De Burg 1, Duric 1, Lopez 1.
CN Sant Feliu: Pugibet 3, Velkov 1, M.Lucena 1, Lopez 1.
Real Canoe–Terrassa 6:10 (2:3,1:1,3:3,0:3)
Geodesic Real Canoe: Alcon 1, De Grado 1, A.Jimenez 1, V. Fernandez 1, Acosta 1, R. Fernandez 1.
CN Terrassa: De Lera 2,Alarcon 2, Barroso 2, Alegre 1, Gutierrez 1, Rodriguez 1, Chico 1.
Catalunya defeated Mediterrani and kept a chance to qualify for a higher group of the second phase. The teams were in a neck-and-neck race for almost two quarters. Mediterrani had a slim advantage (6:5) in the middle of the second quarter. Catalunya kept the rival goalless for more than eight minutes, while it scored four goals for a 9:6 lead (21st minute), which proved vital for their win.
Barcelona and Terrassa are still undefeated in Group A (but these two teams have yet to face each other this season).
Terrassa needed a lot of time to break Real Canoe, which kept up with the favorite for three quarters. Terrassa scored three unanswered goals in the final eight minutes and for a nice 10:6 win.
Barcelona taught a lesson to the bottom-ranked Sant Feliu.
1 Terrassa 7 – 21
2 Barcelona 7 – 21
3Mediterrani 8 – 10
4 Catalunya 8 – 10
5 Real Canoe 8 – 5
6 Sant Feliu 8 – 0
Group B
Navarra–Sabadell 4:17 (0:3,2:5,2:7,0:2)
CD Waterpolo Navarra: Zulaica 2,Chocarro 1, J. Fernandez 1.
Astralpool CN Sabadell: Cabanas 6, Bertran 4, Andion 3, Ubovic 2,Teclas 1, R. Valera 1.
Tenerife –Barceloneta 1:19 (0:5,0:5,0:4,1:5)
Echeyde Tenerife : Espanol 1.
Zodiac CNA Barceloneta: Perrone 4, Granados 3, Munarriz 3, Larumbe 2, Fernandez 2, Biel 2, Bustos 1, Famera 1, Bodegas 1.
Sant Andreu – Mataro 11:9 (2:3,6:2,0:2,3:2)
CN Sant Andreu: Paul Garcia 6, Bargallo 2, V. Cabanas 1, Bofill 1, Bustos 1.
Quadis CN Mataro: Minguez 3, Yanez 2, Casabella 1, Daura 1, Codina 1, V. Fernandez 1.
The most important game of the round in Group B was an encounter between Sant Andreu and Mataro. Sant Andreu took three points and will play in the group for the title in the second part of the regular season.
Mataro started very well and gained a 4:2 advantage in the 1st minute of the 2nd quarter. But, Sant Andreu responded with a 6:0 series and jumped to an 8:4 lead (15th minute). Then came Mataro’s series of four consecutive goals. The visitors equalized early in the fourth quarter. Still, Sant Andreu didn’t let Mataro go further. The hosts built an 11:8 lead by the 31st minute and secured a win. Two rounds before the end, 3rd-placed Sant Andreu has six points more than 4th-placed Mataro. But, Sant Andreu cemented 3rd position because it defeated Mataro in both matches this season (6:5 and 11:9).
Barceloneta and Sabadell achieved comfortable away victories.
1 Barceloneta 8 – 24
2 Sabadell 8 – 21
3 Sant Andreu 8 – 15
4 Mataro 8 – 9
5 Tenerife 8 – 1
6 Navarra 8 – 1
The groups of the second phase
Group C (1st – 6th place):Terrassa, Barcelona, A3, Barceloneta, Sabadell, Sant Andreu.
Group D (7th – 12th place): A4, A5, Sant Feliu, Mataro, Tenerife, Navarra.
The results of the encounters between the teams which played in the same group of the first stage will be carried to the second stage.
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