EVK Zaibas (Lithuania), Sliema (Malta), and two Dutch clubs, GZC Donk and ZV de Zaan, advanced to the semifinals of the Challenger Cup for men.
The return matches of the quarterfinals were played today. Only one of the four semifinalists didn’t record wins in both quarterfinal legs. It was the Lithuanian team.
EVK Zaibas beat KVP Novaky (Slovakia) by eight goals in the first match in Lithuania (16:8). It seemed that the return game in Slovakia would be a formality.
Still, the 2nd match had a thrilling ending. KVP led most of the time, but until the final quarter, it didn’t endanger the Lithuanians’ advantage in terms of aggregate score. The Slovaks entered the final period leading 10:6. They felt they could overcome a deficit from the first match and played better and better. A minute and 21 seconds from the end, Novaky earned a 14:7 lead. That was followed by missed attacks at both ends of the pool. EVK earned a man-up with seven seconds remaining. Marko Jelaca beat the buzzer. He converted a 6 on 5 and sank Novaky’s hopes. The hosts won 14:8, but EVK will play in the semifinals.
GZC Donk, ZV de Zaan, and Sliema beat their rivals convincingly in both legs.
Challenger Cup 2024/25 men, quarterfinals, 2nd leg
Clube Fluvial Portuense (POR) – GZC Donk (NED) 13:18 (3:6, 3:6, 1:2, 6:4) – 1st match 12:20
KVP Novaky (SVK) – EVK Zaibas (LTU) 14:8 (3:3, 3:1, 4:2, 4:2) – 1st match 8:16
Sliema (MLT) – Ljubljana Slovan (SVN) – 13:2 (2:0, 5:1, 2:1, 4:0) – 15:8
ZV de Zaan (NED) – Vitoria Sport Clube (POR) 13:4 (5:2, 4:1, 3:1, 1:0) – 23:11
Semifinals (February 22 and March 8): ZV de Zaan- EVK Zaibas, GZK Donk – Sliema