GZC Donk won the 3rd edition of the Men’s Challenger Cup. The Dutch defeated EVK Zaibas (Lithuania) 12:9 in the return match of the final in the Netherlands, surpassing their rival by just one goal in the aggregate score (EVK Zaibas had recorded an 11:9 win at home).
The second game of the final was a thrilling contest, with GZC scoring its 12th goal in the very last second.
Men’s Challenger Cup, final, 2nd leg
GZC Donk – EVK Zaibas 12:9 (2:1, 4:2, 3:3, 3:3) – 1st leg 9:11
GZC Donk: Van IJperen 5, D. Schouwerwou 2, Veenhuis 1, Westerwoudt 1, Van der Weijden 1, Van den Heuvel 1 Winkelhorst 1.
EVK Zaibas: Krapic 2, Jelaca 2, Bosic 2, Bakulo 2, Jonkus 1.
GZC Donk took an early lead, scoring twice within the first two minutes of the game. From that moment, they remained in front, while EVK consistently tried to catch up.
In the middle of the second period, the Dutch extended their lead to (4:1) and kept it until the middle break (6:3). The Lithuanians opened the second half with two goals to reduce the gap to 5:6. Thirty seconds before the last break, EVK trailed by a goal (6:7). However, GZC quickly turned the tide by scoring two goals in the final 23 seconds of the period. First, Van IJperen converted a man-up opportunity to make it 8:6. Then, after EVK lost possession and committed a personal foul, GZC Donk capitalized on the extra player. Van den Heuvel scored just as the buzzer sounded, increasing the lead to 9:6.
Croatia’s former captain Ivan Krapic made it 7:9 in EVK’s first possession in the fourth quarter. Until the end of the game, the teams traded goals back and forth. The hosts called a timeout before their last possession with 15 seconds remaining in the game. Three seconds from the end, they forced an exclusion. Gus Van IJperen scored his fifth goal in the match, sending the ball into the net in the very last second, and the hosts started celebrating a big victory. Even though the shot clock had expired before the shot was taken, the referees still counted the goal.
