Two Turkish and two Spanish clubs qualified for the LEN Challenger Cup quarterfinals after Day 2 of the Preliminary Stage.
Galatasaray (Turkey) and Tenerife (Spain) secured their quarterfinal berths in Group A. Terrassa (Spain) won 1st place in Group B on the home field, while ENKA Istanbul (Turkey) cemented the top spot in Group C in Sarajevo.
Four tickets are still available – one in Group B, one in Group C and two in Group D.
As for Group D (Kranj), Apollon Smyrnis is in 1st place, but none of the teams hasn’t secured its place in the quarterfinals yet. Second-placed Ludwigsburg and third-placed Triglav have chances to finish 1st. However, Apollon needs only one point in the last round to remain atop.
LEN Challenger Cup, Preliminary Stage, Day 2
Group A (Novaky)
Ydraikos – Galatasaray 15:18 (4:4, 3:3, 3:8, 5:3)
Ydraikos: Rompopoulos 7, Suzuki 2, Gkaranis 2, Blanis 2, Dimakopoulos 1, Bertolis 1.
Galatasaray: Senemoglu 5, Colak 4, Krstic 3, Acar2, Destici 2, Caner 1, Turan 1.
Novaky – Tenerife 9:12 (3:3, 2:1, 3:5, 1:3)
KVP Novaky: Bielik 3, Ravinger 2, Zatovic 2, Mihal 1, Tisaj 1.
Echeyde Tenerife: Espanol 4, Keuning 3, Salvador 2, Gutierrez 1, Diaz 1, Alegre 1.
Galatasaray blew Ydraikos away in the third period. At halftime, it stood 7:7. Galatasaray dominated the third period, scoring even eight goals to enter the last eight minutes with a 15:10 lead. In the middle of the fourth quarter, the Greeks reduced the gap to two goals (14:16), and again in the 31st minute (15:17), but Galatasaray controlled the game and booked the ticket for the quarterfinals.
KVP Novaky was a slightly better rival in the first half, and had an advantage three times (2:1, 4:3, 5:4). Tenerife leveled at 5:5 in the first possession in the second half. Still, midway through the second period, Novaky gained a 2-goal lead (7:5). Still, the hosts ran out of energy for the last 12 minutes. Tenerife, the favorite, produced a 7:1 series. The Spaniards earned a 12:8 advantage (27th minute), and didn’t let the hosts come back.
An encounter between Tenerife and Galatasaray will decide which of the two teams will advance to the quarterfinals from 1st, and which from 2nd place.
Standings: 1. Galatasaray (TUR) 6, 2. Tenerife (ESP) 6, 3. Ydraikos (GRE) 0, 4. KVP Novaky (SVK) 0.
Group B (Terrassa)
Terrassa – ASAtel Aviv 12:4 (2:0, 4:1, 4:2,2:1)
Terrassa: Delgado 4, Wilson 3, Sanchez 1, Alarcon 1, Farcia 1, Diaz 1, Comas 1.
ASA Tel Aviv: Schlein 1, Fotin 1, Hoffenbartel Nadler 1, Zonanstern 1.
Terrassa – Het Ravijn 16:12 (6:2, 3:3, 4:3, 3:4)
Terrassa: Delgado 5, De Lera 4, Alarcon 3, Sanchez 2, Flores 1, Rodriguez 1.
ZPC Het Ravijn: L.A.Gottemaker 3, Muller 2, Loos 2, Hageman 2, Aanstoot 1, R.Gottemaker 1, Ter Brake 1
As expected, Terrassa won 1st place in Group B. The Spaniards proved too strong for both rivals.
The hosts downed ASA Tel Aviv in the morning session (12:4).
Terrassa had a more demanding task in the evening match, but the Spaniards’ victory wasn’t in danger. Terrassa opened the match with a 5:0 lead and that set the tone of the game. The Dutch reduced the gap to three goals twice (3:6 and 6:9), but they couldn’t come any closer.
ASA and Het Ravijn will battle for 2nd place tomorrow.
Standings: 1. Terrassa (ESP) 6 (2), 2. Het Ravijn (NED) 0 (1), 3. ASA Tel Iviv (ISR) 0 (1).
Group C (Sarajevo)
Invictus – ENKA 6:19 (1:7, 0:3, 2:5, 3:4)
Invictus: B.Hadzic 2, A.Hadzic 1, Mateescu 1, Krivic 1, Ostojic 1.
ENKA Istanbul: Kaner 4, Alkan 4, Baskaya 3, Duzenli 2, Yenigun 2, Ozbek 2, Kahraman 1, Obradovic 1.
Kosice – Banja Luka 28:8 (7:1, 4:3, 7:4, 10:0)
SKP Kosice: Orem 6, Dily 5, Muzhychuk 3, Motyl 3, Juhasz 3, Hirjak 2, Afanasev 2, Horvath 2, Kolesar 1, Bodnar 1.
Banja Luka: Ganic 3, Djugum 2, Amidzic 1, Kojcinovic 1, Vujkovic 1.
ENKA Istanbul cruised to a victory over Invictum. Already in the 17th minute, the Turks had an 11:1 advantage. In the remaining time, the visiting team slowed, but the contest was practically over after the first 16 minutes.
SKP Kosice opened the match against Banja Luka excellently. The Slovaks built a 7:0 lead. Banja Luka, which has a 10-player roster at the tournament, got on the scoreboard just 23 seconds before the first break. Banja Luka water polo players reduced the gap to four goals twice(3:7 and 4:8), but there was no way back for them after a bad start.
The crucial match of the last day will be an encounter between host Invictum and Kosice. The winner will join ENKA in the quarterfinals. If the match ends in tie, Kosice will remain in 2nd place because of a better goal difference.
Standings: 1. ENKA (TUR) 6, 2. Kosice (SVK) 3 (+8), 3. Invictus (BiH) 3 (-8), 4. Banja Luka (BIH) 0
Group D (Kranj)
Apollon – KVIK 37:4 (8:1, 11:1, 9:2, 9:0)
Apollon Smyrnis: Myrilos 9, Vickovic 6, Tourkomenis 6, Bogdanovic 4, Braimis 4, Goniotakis 3, Solanakis 2, Alamanos 1, Gardikas 1.
KVIK Kastrup: Koska 2, Durjasz 1, Nozadze 1.
Triglav – Ludwigsburg 11:13 (3:2, 0:5, 4:1, 4:5)
AVK Triglav: Justin 4, Troppan 3, Cerar 2, Voncina 1, Paunovic 1.
Ludwigsburg: Prieto 4, Andjelic 3, Skiljic 2, Pavicic-Capucho 1, Kutchuashvili 1, Metodiev 1, Blazevic 1.
Apollon improved its goal-difference in the match against KVIK
The game Triglav – Ludwigsburg was a roller coaster. Triglav led 3:1 in the 7th minute, but the hosts stopped after that. Ludwigsburg scored six straight goals and entered the second half leading 7:3. After the middle break, Triglav took control. The Slovenians cut the deficit to one goal (7:8) 30 seconds before the last break. Triglav opened the fourth quarter with an action goal and leveled at 8:8. Still, the Germans refound their rhythm. Ludwigsburg scored four goals within 03:03 minutes and went to 12:8. By the end, Triglav halved the deficit and kept chances to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Tomorrow, Triglav will play against Apollon, while Ludwigsburg will face KVIK. It’s expected that the Germans will defeat the Danish club. If Ludwigsburg wins tomorrow, it will qualify regardless of the outcome of the duel Apollon – Triglav.
Apollon will remain atop if it wins a point against the hosts. If the Slovenians defeat the Greeks, the mini-table of the teams with the same number of points will decide the first three places. Since Ludwigsburg lost to Apollon by one goal (10:11) and beat Triglav by two, the Germans will secure at least 2nd place if they beat KVIK.
Standings: 1. Apollon (GRE) 6, 2. Ludwigsburg 08 (GER) 3, 3. Triglav (SVN) 3, 4. KVIK Kastrup (DEN) 0.
Day 3 (November 12)
Group A (Novaky): Tenerife – Galatasaray (09:30) Novaky – Ydraikos (11:00)
Group B (Terrassa): ASA Tel Aviv – ZPC Het Ravin (12:00)
Group C (Sarajevo): Enka – Banja Luka (09:00), Invictum – Kosice (11:00)
Group D (Kranj): KVIK – Ludwigsburg (10:00), Triglav – Apollon (11:45).
The quarterfinals are scheduled for January 25 and February 8. The dates of the semifinals are March 1 and 22. The best two teams will face off in the final games on April 15 and 29.
