Only a few important duels were played on the last day of the Champions League Qualification Round 1.
All eyes were on Herceg Novi, where EVK Zaibas (Lithuania) and ENKA Istanbul (Turkey) faced off in the match that decided who would win 3rd place and qualify for the next round. The Lithuanian team celebrated a 13:9 victory and will continue battles in the Champions League.
Before the last day, only two tickets for Round 2 were available. The other one went to Vitoria Guimaraes, which finished 3rd in Group D. Vitoria practically qualified yesterday, but after today’s results, the Portuguese mathematically advanced to Round 2.
Oradea upset Savona – 10:7 and won first place in Group B. However, both teams will play in Round 2.
Day 4, results – Group A: Primorac – Steaua 14:11, ZPC Het Ravijn – Vasas 6:15, Group B: Oradea – Savona 10:7, Galatasaray – ASA Tel Aviv 15:3, Group C: ENKA Istanbul – EVK Zaibas 9:13, Jadran HN – KVP Novaky 16:8, Group D: Tourcoing – KVIK Kastrup 29:4, Panionios – Vitoria 21:6.
The teams that are qualified for Round 2: Vasas, Primorac, Steaua (Group A), Oradea , Savona (Group B), Mladost, Jadran EVK Zaibas (Group C), Tourcoing, Panionios, Vitoria (Group D).
ZPC Het Ravijn, Invictum (Group A), Galatasaray, ASA Tel Aviv (Group B), ENKA, KVP Novaky (Group C), KVIK Kastrup and Banja Luka (Group D) will continue the season in the LEN Challenger Cup.
2022 Champions League Qualification Round 1, Day 4
Group A (Nijverdal), Round 5
Primorac – Steaua 14:11 (3:2, 3:4, 6:3, 2:2)
Primorac: Milic 4, Macic 3, Draskovic 2, Crepulja 2, Gopcevic 2, Paunovic 1.
Steaua: Moskov 4, Georgescu 3, Vuskovic 2, Klikovac 1, Iudean 1.
ZPC Het Ravijn – Vasas 6:15 (2:3, 1:5, 2:3, 1:4)
ZPC Het Ravijn: E.M.Wouters 2, Loos 2, Gottemaker 1, AAnstoot 1.
Vasas: Erdelyi 6, Nagaev 4, Batori 1, Sedlmayer 1, Randjelovic 1, Konarik 1, Gabor 1, Batori 1.
Invictum bye
Primorac kept 2nd place with a victory over Steaua. The Kotor-based team secured the win in a nine-goal third quarter. After a 6:6 first half, Steaua opened the second period with a power-play goal and took a 7:6 lead. Primorac responded with two goals and went to 8:7. The Romanians leveled at 8:8, but then came crucial moments. Primorac scored four unanswered goals in 02:20 minutes, and built a 12:8 lead. Steaua didn’t surrender and cut the deficit midway through the fourth quarter (11:12), but Primorac didn’t let the Romanians go further.
The duel between host ZPC Het Ravijn and Vasas could change nothing in the standings. Vasas had secured 1st place before the last round, while the Dutch couldn’t move from 4th place. But, Vasas proved who the favorite was and recorded a convincing victory.
Standings: 1. Vasas 12, 2. Primorac 9, 3. Steaua 6, 4. ZPC Het Ravijn 3, 5. Invictum Sarajevo 0.
Group B (Oradea), Round 5
Galatasaray – ASA Tel Aviv 15:3 (7:0, 2:0, 4:2, 2:1)
Galatasaray: Krstic 4, Kovats 3, Acar 2, Caner 2, Colak 1, Gulenc 1, Yalcin 1, Destici 1.
ASA Tel Aviv: Kolodny 2, Zonanstren 1.
Oradea – Savona 10:7 (4:1, 3:2, 1:2, 2:2)
CSM Oradea: Negrean 2, Dragomirescu 2, Vancsik 2, Asanovic 1, Gheorghe 1, Szabo 1, Ilsie 1.
Oradea: Djurdjic 4, Lanzoni 3.
Savona was the favorite in Group B, but host Oradea won 1st place, thanks to a well-deserved victory over the Italians. The Romanian club took a flying start and earned a 4:0 lead. Savona couldn’t recover from that shock. The Italians reduced the gap to two goals a few times (3:5, 6:8, 7:9), but Oradea was the team that dictated the pace and was always in front.
Galatasaray finished the tournament with a consolation win over ASA Tel Aviv.
Standings: 1. Oradea 9, 2. Savona 6, 3. Galatasaray 3, 4. ASA Tel Aviv 0.
Group C (Herceg Novi), Round 5
ENKA Istanbul – EVK Zaibas 9:13 (1:2, 0:3, 3:4, 5:4)
ENKA Istanbul: Alkan 3, Obradovic 3, Albayrak 1, Ozbek 1, Baskaya 1.
EVK Zaibas: Bosic 4, Lobov 2, Bakulo 2, Vitkauskas 1, Voitenko 1, Vadvilavicius 1, Zurza 1, Ivanov 1.
Jadran HN – KVP Novaky 16:8 (4:3, 6:0, 3:2, 3:3)
Jadran Herceg Novi: Khalturin 3, Zizudin 2, Vukicevic 2, Stevovic 2, Muscat 2, Caraj 2, M.Gardasevic 1, Sladovic 1, Boskovic 1.
KVP Novaky: Tisaj 3, Zatovic 3, Ilias 1, Kovacik 1.
Mladost bye
Before the tournament, Turkish ENKA was considered the most serious candidate to go to Round 2 along with Mladost and Jadran HN. However, the Istanbul-based side will continue its season in the LEN Challenger Cup. The duel with EVK Zaibas was a must-win game for ENKA, which won only one point ( a draw against Novaky) in Herceg Novi. But, the Lithuanians left ENKA no hope. EVK Zaibas, led by Luka Bosic, built a 4-goal lead by the middle break (5:1) and from that point on, the difference was never smaller than three goals.
Jadran Herceg Novi confirmed 2nd place with an easy win over KVP Novaky. The hosts started slowly, but an excellent second quarter put them on the right track.
Standings: 1. Mladost 12, 2. Jadran HN 9, 3. EVK Zaibas 6, 4. ENKA Istanbul 1, 5. KVP Novaky 1.
Group D (Tourcoing), Round 5
Tourcoing – KVIK Kastrup 29:4 (7:0, 5:3, 12:0, 5:1)
Tourcoing: Canonne 7, Dasic 5, Lepoint 4, Cutovic 4, Crosetti 3, Vincourt 3, Cathudal 1, Durik 1, D.Zivkovic 1.
KVIK Kastrup: Koska 2, Durjasz 1, Varga 1.
Panionios – Vitoria 21:6 (7:1, 5:3, 4:1, 5:1)
Panionios: Kopelaidis 3, Ntalapas 3, Papakos 3, Gounas 3, Spooner 2, Kapetanakis 2, Bouzalas 2, Gkiouvetsis 2, Kalaitzis 1.
Vitoria Guimaraes: Ferreira Sousa 2, Oliveira 2, Castro 1, Lopes 1.
Banja Luka bye
Tourcoing and Panionios proved too strong for KVIK Kastrup and Vitoria Guimaraes. However, Vitoria water polo players weren’t unhappy after the last match of the tournament. They mathematically secured 3rd place and advanced to the 2nd round, which is one of the biggest successes in the club’s history.
In the previous days, the Portuguese opened themselves the doors of the next round with wins over KVIK and Banja Luka. Since there were no (impossible) surprises after these wins, they joined Tourcoing and Panionios in the next round.
Standings: 1. Tourcoing 12, 2. Panionios 9, 3. Vitoria 6, 4. KVIK Kastrup 3, 5. Banja Luka 0.
