There was little excitement on the last day of the LEN Challenger Cup Preliminary Stage.
The last four available quarterfinal tickets were allocated today.
Apollon Smyrnis (Greece), SKP Kosice (Slovakia), Ludwigsburg (Germany) and Het Ravijn (Netherlands) recorded wins and advanced to the quarterfinals. The four clubs joined Tenerife, Terrassa (both Spain), Galatasaray and ENKA (both Turkey), which secured their places among the top 8 yesterday.
All group winners are unbeaten.
Tenerife finished atop group A, beating Galatasaray today. ENKA added its third win in Group C. Apollon kept 1st place in Group D with a convincing win over host Triglav. Terrassa finished the competition in Group B yesterday with two convincing wins over both rivals.
LEN Challenger Cup, Preliminary Stage, Day 3
Group A(Novaky)
Tenerife – Galatasaray 15:11 (2:3, 5:3, 6:3, 2:2)
Tenerife Echeyde: Alegre 4, Espanol 4, Mercado 3, Salvador 3, Keuning 1.
Galatasaray: Destici 4, Acar 3, Colak 3, Caner 1.
Novaky – Ydraikos 18:19 (4:5, 3:5, 7:5, 4:4)
KVP Novaky: Zatovic 5, Bielik 4, Kovacik 4, Tisaj 2, Zolovcik 1, Mihal 1, Klescinsky 1.
Ydraikos: Rompopoulos 7, Tajata 3, Kontonis 2, Bertolis 2, Gkaranis 2, Blanis 2, Suzuki 1.
Tenerife finished 1st in Novaky. The Spaniards and Galatasaray qualified for the quarterfinals yesterday and battled for the top spot today. In the opening minutes, the Turkish team dictated the pace and led 4:2. Tenerife gained a 5:4 lead with three quick goals. Galatasaray leveled at 5:5 and 6:6, but an experienced Espanol converted a man-up in the dying seconds of the first half for a 7:6 lead. The Spaniards broke the rival in the third quarter. They built a 4-goal advantage in this period (12:8 and 13:9), which opened the doors of the win.
Ydraikos and KVP Novaky lost all chances to qualify for the next round yesterday. Their today’s encounter was a formality. Neither of the teams had pressure. In the end, Ydraikos won the points in a 47-goal game.
1. Tenerife (ESP) 3 – 9
2. Galatasaray (TUR) 3 – 6
3. Ydraikos (GRE) 3 – 3
4. KVP Novaky (SVK) 3 – 0
Group B (Terrassa)
ASA Tel Aviv – Het Ravijn 4:14 (1:6, 1:4, 1:2, 1:2)
ASA Tel Aviv:Schlein 2, Ben Gal Chalutz 1, Hoffenbartel Nadler 1.
Het Ravijn: Wouters 5, Ter Brake 3, Aanstoot 2, Dijkink 1, R.Gottemaker 1, Loos 1, Muller 1.
The decisive match in a battle for 2nd place lacked excitement. Het Ravijn dominated from the beginning and joined Terrassa in the quarterfinals.
1. Terrassa (ESP) 2 – 6
2. Het Ravijn (NED) 2 – 3
3. ASA Tel Aviv (ISR) 2 – 0
Group C (Sarajevo)
ENKA Istanbul – Banja Luka 33:6 (9:1, 4:1, 11:2, 9:2)
ENKA: Albayrak 7, Duzenli 7, Kaner 6, Ozbek 4, Can 3, Kahraman 2, Obradovic 2m Alkan 1, Yenigun 1.
Banja Luka: Kojcinovic 2, VUjkovic 2, Ganic 1, Simic 1.
Invictum – SKP Kosice 6:21 (4:5, 2:7,0:5, 0:4)
Invictum Sarajevo: B.Hadzic 2, Bjelica 1, Zilic 1, A.Hadzic 1, Mateescu 1.
SKP Kosice: Dily 4, Orem 4, Muzhychuk 3, Juhasz 3, Motyl 2, Afanasev 2, Bodnar 1, Marian Tkac 1, Horvath 1.
Before the last round, one ticket for the quarterfinals was available in Sarajevo. Host Invictum and Kosice played in a direct duel for that ticket. The match was an even contest only in the first quarter. The hosts leveled at 2:2 and 3:3 and trailed by a goal at the first break (4:5). But, Kosice needed just four minutes in the second quarter to secure the victory. The Slovaks produced a 6:0 run in four minutes and jumped to a big 11:4 lead. The visitors didn’t stop after that and continued rolling on until the end.
ENKA Istanbul, which secured 1st place yesterday, demolished Banja Luka, which fielded only seven players today.
1.ENKA Istanbul (TUR) 3 – 9
2.SKP Kosice (SVK) 3 – 6
3. Invictum (BiH) 3 – 3
4. Banja Luka (BIH) 3 – 0
Group D (Kranj)
KVIK Kastrup – Ludwigsburg 6:18 (1:5, 2:2, 1:4, 2:7)
KVIK: Lange 4, Nozadze 1, Koska 1.
Ludwigsburg 08: Andjelic 3, Dzaja 3, Kutchuashvili 2, Bauer 2, Manic 2, Dimitrov 2, Skiljic 2, Metodiev 1, Blazevic 1.
Triglav – Apollon 6:20 (5:4, 1:5, 0:5, 0:6)
AVK Triglav:Lah 2, Justin 2, Popovic 1, Cerar 1.
Apollon Smyrnis: Bogdanovic 4, Goniotakis 4, Alamanos 3, Myrilos 2, Solanakis 2,Mokkas 1, Diplaros 1, Chondroukoukis 1, Vickovic 1, Gardikas 1.
There were no surprises in Kranj on the last day.
Ludwigsburg opened the third round with an easy victory over KVIK Kastrup and secured at least 2nd place.
Host Triglav needed a 2-goal win over favorite Apollon to advance to the quarterfinals. In the beginning, it seemed that the Slovenians could upset the Greeks. The rivals were neck-and-neck in the first period. The teams were tied four times (1:1, 2:2, 3:3, 4:4). Still, Triglav secured a minimal advantage (5:4) before the second quarter. But, Apollon took control after the first break. The Greeks scored five goals in a row and gained a 9:5 lead. There was no way back for Triglav, which couldn’t find the net in the second half.
Apollon won first place with nine points.
1.Apollon Smyrnis (GRE) 3 – 9
2. Ludwigsburg 08 (GER) 3 – 6
3. Triglav Kranj (SVN) 3 – 3
4. KVIK Kastrup (DEN) 3 – 0
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.
