The last day of the Champions League Group B brought no changes in the standings of the top four teams.
Brescia beat Jug 14:10 and kept first place.
Novi Beograd defeated Spandau 13:8, but, since Brescia won all three points, it wasn’t enough for the hosts of the Final Eight to move from 2nd place.
Sabadell surprised Ferencvaros and beat the Hungarian Champion in the “Alfred Hajos” pool in Budapest 12:10. But, “Fradi” secured 3rd place earlier. Sabadell played for pride since its chances of qualifying for the F8 disappeared before the last round.
OSC beat Marseille in a 31-goal match (18:13) and moved from the bottom of the table. OSC finished the group stage in 6th place.
The matches in Brescia and in the “Alfred Hajos” pool were the farewell games for the legends of both clubs, so they were packed with emotions
Before tomorrow’s last round in Group A, we know one quarterfinal pair of the Final Eight in Belgrade.
Brescia, the winner of Group B, will play against Vouliagmeni in the quarters. It’s almost certain that Jug, which finished 4th in Group B, will face Barceloneta.
Novi Beograd and Ferencvaros are waiting for the outcome of the match Pro Reccco- Olympiacos, which decides on 2nd place in Group A.
2022/23 Champions League Day 14, Group B
Brescia – Jug 14:10 (4:1, 2:1, 4:4, 4:4)
Brescia: Tesanovic, Dolce, C.Presciutti 1, Gianazza, Lazic 2, Vapenski 1, Renzuto 1, Kharkov 1, Alesiani 2, Luongo 4, Di Somma 2, Gitto, Baggi Necchi.
Jug: Popadic, Burdjelez, Fatovic, Zvono, Jokovic, Vukojevic, Biljaka, Prkoca, Mozara, Kakaris 2, Grgurevic, Zuvela 4, Jurisic. Head coach: Kobescak.
Brescia defeated Jug in a festival atmosphere in the “Mompiano pool”. Brescia needed at least a point to keep 1st place, but that wasn’t the only reason why the game was played in front of the packed stands.
The fans came to support the Italian team and to say goodbye to Brescia’s captain Christian Presciutti. The 40-year-old ace will retire after the end of the season, and today’s game was his last in the Italian pools.
Thank you captain: Christian Presciutti with head coach Bovo, the representatives of the fans and the club Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo
As for the game, the hosts secured a solid 3-goal advantage in the early stage of the game. Jug, which was without Franko Lazic and Filip Krzic, consolidated its defense in the second quarter, but the attack still didn’t work well. The first goal in the second period was scored in the 6th minute – Alesiani made it 5:1 from a counter-attack. Marko Zuvela responded for 2:5. Christian Presciutti scored the last goal in the first half, just five seconds before the middle break, and the stands erupted and saluted Presciutti once again, while Brescia regained a 4-goal lead.
I Jug lost points in Brescia, but it also lost captain Loren Fatovic, who got injured in the middle of the second quarter. According to the first information, he broke his finger on the right hand. So, he probably won’t be able to help his teammates at the Final Eight.
Loren Fatovic after the game
Jug imposed its rhythm in the third quarter and came very close to the hosts. Konstantinos Kakaris scored with an extra player for 5:7 in the 21st minute. But, Brescia held back that and the following Jug’s comeback attempts. The hosts rebuilt a 4-goal lead before the final quarter (10:6).
The fourth period was very similar to the previous one. Jug started better and halved the deficit after less than three minutes of play (8:10). Midway through the fourth quarter, the hosts’ center-forward Djordje Lazic converted a man-up for 8:11. However, Jug didn’t give in. It cut the deficit to two in the 30th minute (9:11). Shortly after, Luongo netted two back-to-back goals, Brescia went to 13:9 and avoided a thrilling finish.
Novi Beograd – Spandau 04 13:8 (7:3, 1:2, 4:2, 1:1)
Novi Beograd: Filipovic, S.Rasovic 2, Shushiashvili, Granados 2, Martinovic 1, Pijetlovic 3, Drasovic, Jaksic 2, Perkovic 1, Vlachopoulos 2, Skoumpakis, V.Rasovic, Fernandez. Head coach: Gocic.
Spandau 04: Baksa, Gbadamassi 2, Prioteasa, Cuk, Tkac 1, Bozic 1, Strelezkij 1, Marziali 1, Chiru, Kholod 1, Restovic, Shepelev 1, Vernet Schweimer. Head coach: Kechagias.
Novi Beograd played its first match at the outdoor pool of the SC “11 April”, which will be the venue of the upcoming Final Eight. The ambiance suited the hosts. They opened the match furiously. Almost each of the hosts’ shots in the first quarter was a goal, so Novi Beograd led 7:3 at the first break.
The venue of the Final Eight Photo by Miodrag Todorovic/VK Novi Beograd
But, the Berliners tightened their defense in the second quarter. They halved the deficit (5:7). The hosts’ centre-forward Miroslav Perkovic ended his team’s goalless phase for 8:5 in the 13th minute. Dusko Pijetlovic gave Novi Beograd a 9:5 advantage at the beginning of the third period. However, the Germans didn’t surrender. They cut the deficit to two once again (7:9). They had a penalty shot to come even closer, but Filipovic saved a shot from Kholod. At the other end of the pool, the Serbian champion didn’t miss its chances from the 5m line. In the last three minutes of the third quarter , Novi Beograd netted three goals (all three from penalty shots), jumped to 12:7 and could slow in the fourth period.
The hosts scored 13 goals, despite having a very poor percentage of extra player shots (1/7). Spandau’s man-up conversion wasn’t much better (1/6).
Ferencvaros – Sabadell 10:12 (1:3, 2:3, 4:2, 3:4)
Ferencvaros: Vogel, Molnar, Pohl 1, Merkulov 1, Argyropoulos 1, Ubovic, Fekete 2, Ven.Vigvari 1, Nemet 1, Nagy 1, Jansik 2, Damonte, Szakonyi. Head coach:Zs. Varga.
Sabadell: Lorrio, Sanahuja 3, Gil, Teclas, Veich, Valera 1, Bertran 1, Cabanas 3, Averka 3, Banicevic 1, Bonet, Bustos, Teclas. Head coach: Colet.
The encounter between Ferencvaros and Sabadell played in the legendary “Alfred Hajos “pool on Margaret Island, was the last home match for Ferencvaros’ head coach Zsolt Varga, who will work only with the national team from this summer.
Farewell to Varga after the game Video by Vlv.hu
Many fans were in the stands to farewell Zsolt Varga and to see off the team to the Final Eight. However, they didn’t celebrate a victory. Sabadell took three points in the “temple of water polo”. But, on the other hand, a match like this was helpful for Ferencvaros. The Hungarians could see their weak spots.
But, Sabadell didn’t let the game turn into Ferencvaros’ celebration or festival. The Spaniards had nothing to lose, but they wanted to finish the season with a victory and did their best.
Sabadell earned an early 2:0 lead (between these two goals, Ferencvaros’ goalkeeper Vogel saved a shot from Valera). At the first break, Sabadell led 3:1. Ferencvaros, which played without Denes Varga and Stylianos Argyropoulos, reduced the gap to one (2:3 and 3:4), but the visitors went into the third period with a 6:3 lead, with two goals in the last 66 seconds – Cabanas from action and Sanahuja from a penalty).
Sergi Cabanas Photo by VK Jug
Cabanas made it 7:3 early in the third quarter. The home players and the fans were quite shocked, but, Ferencvaros managed to come back with support from the stands. In the middle of the third period, Sabadell was three steps ahead (8:5). Fourteen seconds before the last break, Fekete scored from a penalty shot for 7:8.
Ferencvaros earned a man-up in its first possession in the fourth quarter. After a few long passes and an assist by Luca Damonte, Adam Nagy found the net and Ferencvaros caught up with Sabadell – 8:8.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Ferencvaros took the lead for the first time (and as it turned later the last time). Vendel Vigvari escaped Sabadell’s defense, he found himself alone in front of Sabadell’s goalie Lorrio (who posted 11 saves today) and made it 9:8. However, after Ferencvaros’ 4:0 run, Sabadell responded with two quick goals and regained the advantage. Merkulov leveled at 10:10. The Spaniards dictated the pace at the finish. Konstantin Averka closed the game with two power-play goals. The Belarussian with Montenegrin citizenship scored for 12:10 with 97 seconds left on the clock.
After the match, the Spaniards were happy, like they qualified for the F8.
OSC Budapest – Marseille 18:13 (2:3, 7:1,4:4, 5:5)
OSC Budapest: Levai, Angyal 2, Manhercz 1, Varnai 1, Salamon, Csacsovszky 2, Dala 1, Aranyi 1, Vin.Vigvari 5, Burian 4, Bundschuh, Harai 1, Bisztrisanyi. Head coach: Da. Varga.
Marseille: Lazovic, Cuckovic 2, Crousillat, Spaic 2, Prlainovic 1, Vernoux 1, Olivon 1, Bouet 2, De Nardi 1, Bodegas 1, Vukicevic, Daube 2, Hovhannisyan. Head coach: Scepanovic.
Marseille started very well. The French led 2:1 and 3:2. However, OSC Budapest, with outstanding Vince Vigvari, opened the second quarter with three goals and went ahead (5:4). Bouet broke OSC’s series (4:5), but for a short. By the end of the first half, OSC scored four unanswered goals, and the contest ended. In the second half, neither team cared about the defense, and OSC maintained a big difference.
1. Brescia 14 games – 34 points ( goal difference +45)
2. Novi Beograd 14 – 32 (+42)
3. Ferencvaros 14 – 25 (+7)
4. Jug 14 – 16 (-5)
5. Sabadell 14 – 16 (-16)
6.OSC Budapest 14 – 13 (-19)
7. Marseille 14 – 13 (-16)
8. Spandau 14 – 11 (-38)
*Head-to-head: Jug – Sabadell 14:10 and 12:15; OSC – Marseille 10:10 and 18:13
Group A (May 24)
Vouliagmeni – Radnicki (19:00 – 18:00 CET)
Pro Recco – Olympiacos (19:00)
Jadran Split – Waspo 98 Hannover (19:00)
Barceloneta – Dinamo Tbilisi (20:00)
1. Barceloneta 13 games – 36 points (goal difference +62)
2. Pro Recco 13 – 33 (+89)
3. Olympiacos 13 – 31 (+62)
4. Vouliagmeni 13 – 17 (-25)
5. Jadran 13 – 14 (-3)
6. Radnicki 13 – 12 (-36)
7. Dinamo T 13 – 6 (-78)
8. Waspo 98 Hannover 13 – 3 (-71)
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