After an exhilarating regular season in the Spanish Division de Honor, the top four teams have confirmed their place in the championship play-offs. The reigning champions, Sabadell, take the top spot, while hot on their heels were the resurgent CN Mataro – with the 2020 champions taking the second qualifying spot. Terrassa and Mediterrani take third and fourth, both securing Euro League Water Polo for a second successive year.
Eighteen time winners Sabadell will be confident to make the championship finals, as they face 4th the fourth placed CE Mediterrani. Sabadell beat Mediterrani home and away this season – 13-8 at Can Llong on the first day of the season, and 16-7 at Josep Valles. David Palma will know his side has the quality to once again defeat Mediterrani, but Maria Angeles Diaz will hope her side can perhaps cause an upset over the play-off legs.
In a more interesting prospect, Mataro will find that finishing 2nd in the regular league will provide a stern challenge in the play-offs in the form of Xavi Perez’s Terrassa, who finished six points behind Mataro in third. Mataro won the first of their meetings with Terrassa, but only by a thinnest of margins. Back in October, Mataro secured a tense 7-6 thanks to an Anna Gual in the last 15 seconds of the match. On the 29th March, Mataro scrapped a 7-7 draw, with only a last minute goal from Silvia Morell denying Terrassa of the victory. There is no doubt these two sides are very closely matched, as evident in their previous encounters in the league, and their play-off matches will hopefully provide an equal amount of drama.
The play-offs will be played over three legs. The Semi-Finals will be played on the 7th, 9th and 10th of March. The Final will also be played over three separate matches to be played on the 13th, 15th and 16th of March.
At the bottom of the table, AR Concepcion were relegated without scoring a single point this season. The Madridian’s will return to the Division Primera, while their berth will be contested by either Tenerife Echeyde or Real Canoe
Final Standings – Regular Season
- Astralpool Sabadell – 22 – 63pts
- CN Mataro – 22 – 61pts
- CN Terrassa – 22 – 55pts
- CE Mediterrani – 22 – 48pts
- CN Sant Andreu – 22 – 42pts
- CN Rubi – 22 – 36pts
- CN Catalunya -22 – 30pts
- ESC Zaragoza – 22 – 17pts
- Natacion Boadilla – 22 – 16pts
- CN Sant Feliu – 22 – 13pts
- CN Atletic-Barceloneta – 22 – 11pts
- AR Concepcion Ciudad Lineal – 22 – 0pts (Relegated)
* Qualified for the Euro League next season
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