Barceloneta defeated Sabadell 12:7 in the second match of the Spanish League playoffs final, finishing the season with a perfect record of 26 victories in as many games.
This is Barceloneta’s 25th title in the Spanish League overall and its 20th consecutive championship.
This trophy holds special significance for Felipe Perrone, one of the trademarks of 21st-century water polo. Perrone won his 17th and final Spanish Championship. Last year, Barceloneta’s captain announced that he would retire at the end of this season. At the start of his career in 2004 and 2005, Perrone won two titles playing for Barcelona. In the following two decades, he added 15 Spanish championships with Barceloneta. Additionally, he claimed national titles in Croatia with Jug and in the Italian Serie A1 with Pro Recco.
However, Perrone isn’t finished with Barceloneta just yet. In two weeks, he will lead the best Spanish club at the Champions League Final Four in Malta. Whether he will participate in the World Championships with Spain has yet to be decided.
Today, Sabadell offered a stronger resistance to Barceloneta at home ground than in the first match, when Barceloneta won 17:8. The game in Sabadell was decided only in the fourth quarter.
The hosts led 1:0 and 3:2 in the first period. After eight minutes of play, the score was 3:3. Barceloneta opened the second quarter wth three straight goals and went to 6:3. Still, Sabadell came back. The hosts reduced the gap to 5:6. Just a second before halftime, Jan Perez scored the fifth goal for Sabadell. The first half was a scoring contest between Sabadell and Alvaro Granados, who scored five out of Barceloneta’s six goals in the first 16 minutes.
Early in the third period, Corres leveled at 6:6. Still, that was followed by Barceloneta’s new 3:0 run. The visitors tightened their defense and held Sabadell scoreless for more than eight minutes, while netting three goals. In the 26th minute, Gergely Burian made it 9:6. Corres ended Barceloneta’s series (7:9). The old-new champions quickly responded with two goals (Granados and Perrone) to earn a four-goal advantage in the middle of the final quarter (11:7). Munarriz set the final score at the finish of the game.
2025 Spanish League playoffs final (best of three)
Sabadell – Barceloneta 7:12 (3:3, 2:3, 1:1, 1:5) – the final score in the series 0:2
Sabadell: Barrroso 2, Corres 2, Bonet 1, Averka 1, Perez 1.
Barceloneta: Granados 6, Munarriz 1, Sanahuja 1, Burian 1, Tahull 1, Perrone 1, Bustos 1.
