Solaris and Crvena Zvezda won points in derby games of the morning/early afternoon session of the third day of the LEN Euro Cup Round 1.
Solaris beat Montpellier 10:9 in Thessaloniki (Group A). Crvena Zvezda edged out BVSC 8:7 in Group D in Barcelona. The Croats and the Serbs continued their winning streaks and mathematically secured spots in the second round.
But, everything regarding qualifying for the second round is more or less clear in both groups. Besides Solaris, it’s most likely that Montpellier, ZV De Zaan, and PAOK will go through from Group A. Trieste, BVSC Zuglo, and Mediterrani will probably join Crvena Zvezda in the top four teams in Group D.
Echeyde, Ludwigsburg (Group A), Apollon and Kosice (Group D) have no points after three rounds, and their chances of reaching Round 3 are very slim.
Day 3 , morning session – Group A (Thessaloniki): Solaris – Montpellier 10:9, Echeyde – ZV De Zaan 10:11, PAOK – Ludwigsburg 12:6. Group D (Barcelona): Apollon – Trieste 8:13, BVSC Zuglo – Crvena Zvezda 7:8, Mediterrani – SKP Kosice 17:9.
2022/23 LEN Euro Cup, Round 1, Day 3, morning session
Group A (Thessaloniki), Round 3
Solaris – Montpellier 10:9 (4:3, 4:2, 2:1, 0:3)
Solaris: T.Sparada 3, D.Butic 2, Condic Kadmenovic 1, Krekovic 1, Radan 1, Sirovec 1, Burburan 1.
Montpellier: Mustur 4, Kalinic 2, Ben Romdhane 2, Dory 1.
Echeyde – ZV De Zaan 10:11 (2:5, 0:2, 2:3, 6:1)
Echeyde: Alegre 5, Magrina 2, Gutierrez 1, Keuning 1, Mercado 1.
ZV De Zaan: Janssen 3, Mandolini 2, Lucas 2, Meijn 2, Van den Dobbelsteen 1, Van Der Struijk 1.
PAOK – Ludwigsburg 12:6 (1:1, 4:1, 3:2, 4:2)
PAOK: Tsoulakoudis 4, Kechalaris 2, Karatzas 2, Milradovic 1, Charalampopoulos 1 , Koopman 1, Kougiounis 1.
Ludwigsburg: Prieto 2, Andjelic 1,Pavicic-Capucho 1, Dzaja 1, Skiljic 1.
After three rounds in Thessaloniki, only Solaris has a perfect record – three wins in three matches. Two teams that were unbeaten after two days, Solaris and Montpellier, faced off in the first match of the day. Solaris continued its winning streak thanks to a good performance in the middle two periods. Montpellier had a 2:0 and 3:2 advantage in the first five minutes. But, Solaris went in front before the first break and built a big advantage step-by-step. The Croats were 10:5 up in the 22nd minute. However, they couldn’t find the net in the last 10 minutes, while Montpellier scored four goals and reduced the gap to one (9:10) two minutes before the buzzer. Still, Solaris managed to save the win.
An encounter between Echeyde and ZV De Zaan was very similar to the match Solaris- Montpellier. ZV De Zaan entered the final quarter with a big advantage like Solaris, so a late comeback didn’t help Echeyde to avoid the defeat. At halftime, ZV De Zaan led 7:2. The Dutch had a 7-goal advantage in the 22nd minute (10:3) and again in the 25th (11:4). Then, they stopped, Echeyde scored the last six goals in the game. Still, they came close (10:11) just eight seconds before the buzzer. There was no time for a complete comeback.
PAOK started slowly against Ludwigsburg, which had a 2:1 advantage in the middle of the second quarter. But, the Greeks produced a 6:0 series in ten minutes and jumped to 7:2. By the end, the hosts stretched the margin to six.
1.Solaris (CRO) 3 – 9
2.ZV De Zaan (NED) 3 – 6
3. Montpellier (FRA) 3 – 6
4. PAOK (GRE) 3 – 6
5. Echeyde (ESP) 3 – 0
6. Ludwigsburg (GER) 3 – 0
Group D (Barcelona), Round 3
BVSC – Crvena Zvezda 7:8 (0:2, 0:0, 3:3, 4:3)
BVSC: Csapo 2. M.Meszaros 2, Gyarfas 2, Tatrai 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Subotic 3, Radovic 2, Basara 1, Vukicevic 1, Tankosic 1.
Apollon Smyrnis – Trieste 8:13 (1:2, 0:3,5:6, 2:2)
Apollon Smyrnis: Vickovic 3, Bogdanovic 2, Alamanos 1, Goniotakis Korderas 1, Myrilos 1.
Trieste Pallanuoto: Petronio 5, Mezzarobba 2, Bini 2, Bego 2, Valentino 1, Podgornik 1.
Mediterrani – Kosice 17:9 (4:1, 3:3, 6:3,4:2)
Mediterrani: Corres 6, A.Garcia 3, Radic 3, Prat 2, Pueyo 2,Linares 1.
SKP Kosice: Afanasev 3, Motyl 2, Dily 2, Juhasz 1, Haluska 1.
Crvena Zvezda’s excellent defense in the first two quarters and a half opened the doors of victory for the Serbs. The Belgrade-based side earned a 2:0 lead in the first quarter. Early in the third period, captain Milos Vukicevic made it 3:0. Only in the 20th minute, BVSC got on the scoreboard. Meszaros scored for 1:3. Shortly after, the Hungarians reduced the gap to one (2:3, 3:4). Gavril Subotic opened the fourth period with an action goal. Crvena Zvezda regained a 3-goal lead (6:3). BVSC came close in the middle of the quarter (5:6). Still, the Serbs replied with two quick goals (Basara and Radovic). The difference was three again (8:5). The Hungarians cut the deficit to one for the third time (7:8), but their 7th goal came too late – 20 seconds from time. Crvena Zvezda kept the ball in its last possession.
Trieste had ups and downs in the game against Apollon, but there were more ups than downs. In the 18th minute, Trieste led 7:1. Apollon scored four quick goals and narrowed the gap midway through the third period (5:7). But, Trieste, led by Ray Petronio, regained a 6-goal lead in the 24th minute (11:5) and the Italians’ win was no longer in danger.
Host Mediterrani beat bottom-placed Kosice with ease.
1.Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 3 – 9
2. BVSC (HUN) 3 – 6
3. Trieste (ITA) 3 – 6
4. Mediterrani (ESP) 3 – 6
5. Apollon (GRE) 3 – 0
6. Kosice (SVK) 3 – 0
Day 3 (October 15), evening session
Group A (Thessaloniki): Echeyde – Solaris (18:00) , ZV De Zaan – Ludwigsburg (19:15), PAOK – Montpellier (20:30)
Group B (Syracuse): Szolnok – Ortigia (15:00), Ydriakos – Partizan (16:30)
Group C (Kranj): Valis – Strasbourg (17:00), Triglav – Honved (18:40), Telimar – Terrassa (20:20)
Group D (Barcelona): Apollon – Crvena Zvezda (17:30),Trieste – Kosice (19:10), Mediterrani – BVSC (20:50).
