Terrassa is the biggest winner of Day 16 of the Spanish League. It beat Mataro and practically secured a spot in the playoffs. The top three teams, Barceloneta, Sabadell and Barcelona, recorded easy away victories.
Mataro, which holds 5th place and 4th-placed Terrassa, faced off in Mataro’s pool. The first two quarters were a tough defensive battle. It stood 2:2 at halftime. Terrassa dominated the third period, so it led 7:3 before the final eight minutes. Terrassa earned three points with a 9:4 win. A key factor in the game was the impact of penalty shots; Mataro committed six penalty fouls, while Terrassa converted five out of six attempts. Gerard Cuacos Pena scored all five goals from the 5m line. Terrasa is now ten points ahead of 5th-placed Mataro in the standings.
After losing to Ferencvaros in the Champions League, Barceloneta returned to the domestic stage with a 25:9 victory over Mediterrani. Martin Famera, Alvaro Granados, and Vince Vigvari scored almost half of the goals for Barceloneta. Each found the net four times.
Sabadell, led by Francisco Valera (4 goals) and Alex Bowen (3 goals), beat Sant Andreu 14:6.
Barcelona, like Barceloneta, had an unsuccessful visit to Budapest, where it lost to Vasas four days ago. After finishing the season in the Euro Cup, Barcelona achieved a comfortable 17:8 win over Rubi, with five goals from Abel Ramon.
The most thrilling game of the round took place far from the Iberian Peninsula – in Santa Cruz, the capital of the island of Tenerife. Home team Echeyde Tenerife and Real Canoe met in an encounter between the teams that battle to avoid relegation. Tenerife controlled the match in the first half. The hosts were four goals ahead of Real at halftime (7:3). The visitors from Madrid halved the distance before the final quarter (7:9). Real Canoe eventually overturned the deficit in the last eight minutes – 12:11. Javier Ibanez scored a winner with just seven seconds left in the game.
Spanish League, Round 16
Mataro – Terrassa 4:9 (1:2, 1:0, 1:5, 1:2)
Sant Andreu – Sabadell 6:14 (2:5, 1:4, 2:2, 1:3)
Mediterrani – Barceloneta 9:25 (1:4, 1:8, 5:6, 2:7)
Rubi – Barcelona 8:17 (1:2, 2:5, 4:4, 1:6)
Tenerife Echeyde – Real Canoe 11:12 (4:1, 3:2, 2:4, 2:5)
Catalunya – Caballa 10:8 (2:0, 5:3, 1:2, 2:3)
1.Barceloneta 16 – 48
2. Sabadell 16 – 44
3. Barcelona 16 – 37
4. Terrassa 15– 33
5. Mataro 15 – 23
6. Mediterrai 15 – 19
7. Sant Andreu 15 – 18
8. Catalunya 16 – 14
9. Tenerife Echeyde 16 – 11
10. Caballa 16 – 11
11. Rubi 16 – 9
12. Real Canoe 16 – 9
