At the beginning of the new season, Barceloneta proves that it is a far best Spanish team at the moment.
Barceloneta won the Men’s Copa de Catalunya (Catalonia Cup) with two convincing wins in the final tournament.
The Final Four was held in the Montjuic Sports Centre in Barcelona.
Barceloneta beat Mediterrani in the semifinals – 9:3, and downed Sabadell in the final (16:9).
Barcelona won the bronze medal.
The Catalonia Cup was launched in the season 2006/07. This was the 17th edition of the competition. Since 2006, Barceloneta hasn’t won the trophy only twice (Terrassa triumphed in the seaon 2021/22, and Sabadell was the best four years after)
2022/23 Men’s Copa Catalunya, Final Four
Semifinals
Barceloneta – Mediterrani 9:3 (1:1, 3:0, 2:1, 3:1)
Barceloneta: Paul 2, Fernandez 2, Matkovic 1, Pavillard 1, Tahull 1, Perrone 1, Bustos 1.
Mediterrani: Prat 2, A. Garcia 1
Barcelona – Sabadell 6:10 (2:2, 2:3, 1:2, 1:3)
Barcelona: Valls 3, Asensio 2, Lopez 1.
Sabadell: Valera 3, Sanahuja 2, Averka 2, Teclas 1, Bertran 1, Cabanas 1.
Barceloneta started slowly in the semifinal match against Mediterrani. There were no goals for a long time. Barceloneta’s Pavillard broke the deadlock 40 seconds before the first break, but Prat leveled at 1:1 immediately. Still, Barceloneta dominated from the second quarter, scoring four straight goals for a safe 5:1 lead. By the end, the favorite streched the margin to six.
The second semifinal was more balanced. There were a few twists and turns. A minute before the middle break, the score was 4:4. Konstantin Averka closed the first half with an action goal for 5:4 and opened Sabadell’s 5:1 series. The LEN Euro Cup went to 9:5 by the middle of the fourth period and kept the distance in the remaining time.
Final
Barceloneta – Sabadell 16:9 (4:2, 5:2, 3:3, 4:2)
Barceloneta: Perrone 4, Paul 4, De Toro 2, Famera 1, Matkovic 1, Munarriz 1, Pavillard 1, Tahull 1, Biel 1.
Sabadell: Valera 5, Sanahuja 3, Averka 1.
The final match was uncertain only in the opening several minutes. Sabadell scored the first goal. Barceloneta responded with three. The LEN Euro Cup winner halved the deficit (2:3), but Barceloneta produced a 4:0 run, and earned a 7:2 advantage already in the 11th minute. After that, the Spanish champion held back all Sabadell’s comeback attempts.
Felipe Perrone, who scored four goals, received the award for the best player of the match. Nicolas Paul contributed to Barceloneta’s win with four goals as well. But, the best scorer of the final was Sabadell’s Francisco Valera, who found the net five times.
Third-place match
Mediterrani – Barcelona 7:11 (0:3, 3:3, 3:3, 1:2)
Mediterrani: Prat 2, Radic 2, Corres 1, Garcia 1,Perez 1.
Barcelona: Ramon 3, Asensio 2, Mallarach 2, Cupido 2, Francis Put 1, Lopez 1,
A good opening of the game put Barcelona on the right track. The 2nd-placed team in the 2022 Spanish League maintained a 3-goal difference throughout the middle two periods and extended its lead to four in the final quarter
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