Hungary won first place in the 1st Trinacria Cup, a strong preparation tournament held in Trapani, Sicily.
Four excellent teams that will be medal contenders at the World Championships in Singapore participated: Hungary, Italy, Spain, and Greece.
On Day 1, Greece narrowly defeated Spain 10:9, while Hungary opened the tournament with a 12:10 victory over Italy. The Hungarians earned a 3-goal advantage during the second quarter (6:3) and controlled the match until the end.
The teams that lost matches in the first round achieved victories on Day 2. Italy, led by Condemi (5 goals) and Cannella (4 goals), convincingly beat Greece 16:9 in a rollercoaster. Italy took an opening 3:0 lead. However, Greece responded with a 5:0 run and had a 5:3 advantage early in the second quarter. However, Italy retook control and held Greece scoreless for 11 minutes, while scoring eight goals to go ahead 11:5, which proved crucial for the hosts’ victory.
Spain and Hungary were tied at 12:12 at the end of the third quarter. The Spaniards dominated the final eight minutes and recorded a 16:13 win.
All teams had three points each before the final round.
Italy triumphed over Spain 12:10 in the first match of Day 3. Nothing separated the rivals after 24 minutes – 9:9. Italy earned an 11:9 advantage in the fourth period. Tahull reduced the gap to 10:11, but Condemi closed the match with a power-play goal. Once again, he emerged as the top scorer, finding the net five times.
Hungary narrowly defeated Greece in the last game of the tournament, 13:12. The Hungarian team established a 9:6 lead over the first three periods. Although the Greeks made a strong effort to come back in the final eight minutes, they only managed to close the gap to one point in the dying seconds of the game, leaving no time for an equalizer.
Both Hungary and Italy finished the tournament with six points each; however, Hungary secured the top spot thanks to a win over Italy in the first round. Greece finished in third place, and Spain in fourth.
Day 1
Spain – Greece 9:10 (3:3, 2:1, 2:4, 2:2)
Spain: Granados 4, Munarriz 1, Sanahuja 1, Valls 1, Cabanas 1, Valera 1.
Greece: Genidounias 3, Argyropulos 3, Gkiouvetsis 1, Kalogeropulos 1, Kakaris 1, Puros 1.
Italy – Hungary 10:12 (2:3, 2:3, 2:3, 4:3)
Italy: Cannella 2, Ferrero 2, Bruni 2, Di Fulvio 1, Condemi 1, Di Somma 1, Cassia 1.
Hungary: Angyal 2, Ven.Vigvari 2, Vin.Vigari 2, Manhercz 1, Molnar 1, Nagy 1, Fekete 1, Kovacs 1, Vismeg 1.
Day 2
Italy – Greece 16:9 (3:4, 6:1, 3:3, 4:1)
Italy: Condemi 5, Cannella 4, Del Basso 2, Di Somma 2, Di Fulvio 1, Gianazza 1, Iocchi Gratta 1
Greece: Kakaris 2, Papanikolau 2, Kastrinakis 1, Chayivopulos 1, Kalogeropulos 1, Alafragkis 1, Nikolaidis 1
Spain – Hungary 16:13 (0:2, 6:6, 6:4, 4:1)
Spain: Munarriz 3, Granados 3, Sanahuja 3, Tahull 2, A.Bustos 2, Larumbe 1, Perrone 1, Biel 1.
Hungary: Manhercz 4, Fekete 2, Burian 3, Vin. Vigvari 2, Nagy 1, Kovacs 1, Ven. Vigvari 1.
Day 3
Italy – Spain 12:10 (3:4, 4:2, 2:3, 3:1)
Italy: Condemi 5, Di Fulvio 2, Ferrero 1, Del Basso 1, Presciutti 1, Di somma 1, Velotto 1.
Spain: Sanahuja 3, Tahull 3, Munarriz 2, Granados 1, Cabanas 1.
Greece – Hungary 12:13 (1:3, 3:3, 2:3, 6:4)
Greece: Kalogeropoulos 3, Kakaris 2, Papanikolaou 2, Genidounias 2, Gkiouvetsis 2, Chalyvopoulos 1.
Hungary: Burian 4, Jansik 4, Manhercz 2, Ad.Nagy 1, Vin. Vigvari 1, Vismeg 1
To remind you, almost each team will be without some of its Olympians at the World Championships. Gergo Zalanki (Hungary) and Angelos Vlachopoulos (Greece) will play in the Summer Maltese League. Ioannis Fountoulis (Greece) is among those who will be missing, too. Italy’s head coach, Alessandro Campagna, didn’t call up Marco Del Lungo, who is taking a rest, and the players who have had injury problems this year, Gonzalo Echenique and Andrea Fondelli.
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