The top three teams of the Men’s Dutch League left pools empty-handed after the matches of the 16th round of the Eredivisie.
The league leader GZC Donk suffered a 9:13 loss to ZV De Zaan. AZC was convincingly beaten by UZSC in Utrecht (8:14). The biggest surprise of the round was Polar Bears’ home defeat. ZVC-1886 Center edged out Polar Bears 9:8.
2022/23 Dutch Men’s League Day 16
ZV De Zaan – GZC Donk 13:9 (3:3, 3:1, 3:2, 4:3)
ZV De Zaan: Brantjes 3, Meijn 3, Janssen 2, Mandolini 1, Lucas 1, Corver 1, Bakker 1, Rempt 1.
GZC Donk: Veenhuis 3, Van IJperen 2, Winkelhorst 2, Van der Weijden 1, Brugue 1.
UZSC – AZC 14:8 (4:3, 2:2, 3:1, 5:2)
UZSC: Willemsen 4, Cvanciger 2, Edelbroek 2, Athymaritis 2, De Jong 2, Van den Bersselaar 1.
AZC: Filipovic 3, Van den Heuvel 2, Van Gulik 1, Lindhout 1, Kombrink 1.
Polar Bears – ZVL-1886 8:9 (2:4, 2:2, 2:2, 2:1)
Polar Bears:Szoke 2, Kunz 2, Roels 2, Wijgers 1, Wolswinkel 1.
ZVL-1886 Center: Brancatello 3, Kincses 2, Reijchard 1, Van Ruiten 1, Spijker 1, Simac 1.
ZPC Amersfoort – PSV 13:12 (3:2, 3:3, 2:3, 5:4)
ZPC Amersfoort: Palotas 4, J.Van der Werve 2, Slaghuis 2, Muller 1, Borcsok 1, Van Mil 1, Van de Bunt 1, M. Van der Werve 1.
PSV: Brands 3, Simons 3, Mathijssen 2, Van den Hout 2, Schouten 1, Crum 1.
De Linge/PCG – Het Ravijn 10:17 (2:5, 5:5, 1:3, 2:4)
De Linge/PCG: V. Visser 3, Van Heuven 2, O. Visser 1, Gerdes 1, Den Ouden 1, De Haas 1.
Het Ravijn: Loos 4, E. Wouters 3, Ter Brake 3, Gottemaker 2, Muller 2, Heitink 1, Karel 1, H. Wouters 1.
De Ham – ZPB H&L Productions 9:13 (2:1, 2:5, 2:4, 3:3)
De Ham: Bons 2, Vant Veer 2, Sap 1, Groenendijk 1, Geestman 1, Van t Veer 1, Van den Brom 1.
ZPB: Dentro 5, Kuller 3, Van den Burg 2, De Ruijter 1, Van Niekerk 1, Papoukas 1.
The duel between ZV De Zaan and GZC Donk in Zaandam was balanced in the first quarter (3:3). ZV De Zaan took control in the second period. At halftime, it led 6:4. The hosts widened the gap to four early in the fourth period – 8:4 and maintained a 4-goal difference until the end (13:9).
Fortunately for GZC, both the second-placed AZC and third-placed Polar Bears suffered losses, so the team from Gouda kept an advantage ahead of the nearest chasers.
AZC visited Uztrecht to face UZSC. The visitors from Alphen kept up with the UZSC until the third period (6:6). But, after an equalizer, UZSC scored three goals in a row, going to 9:6. In the remaining time, the hosts doubled the margin (14:8)
ZVL-1886 Center, currently in 7th place, shocked 3rd-placed Polar Bears in their pool in Ede. The visitors dictated the pace. In the third quarter, ZVL led 8:4. Polar Bears started climbing back. Still, they just reduced the gap to one (8:9).
After this loss, Polar Bears’ third place is in danger. ZV De Zaan is just a point behind, and the team from Zaandam played two matches less.
A very exciting match was played in Amersfoort, where ZPC earned valuable three points by beating PSV. The home team led for most of the time, but before the final quarter, the sides were tied at 8:8. The neck-and-neck race continued in the last eight minutes. ZPC Amersfoort emerged as a winner (13:12).
Title-holder Het Ravijn easily beat De Linge/PSG, the only team that still hasn’t moved from the “ground zero”.
1. GZC Donk 16 games – 40 points
2. AZC 16 – 37
3. Polar Bears 17 – 37
4. ZV De Zaan 15 – 36
5. UZSC 15 – 28
6. ZPB H&L Productions 17 – 26
7. ZVL:1886 Center 16 – 25
8. Het Ravijn 16 – 19
9. ZPC Amersfoort 15 – 16
10. PSV 15 – 12
11. De Ham 16 – 4
12. De Linge/PCG 16 – 0
