March 2022

Barceloneta sinks Olympiacos, Ferencvaros comes back to life  Brescia, winning easily against Dinamo, broke six points clear once more as Ferencvaros came  back to life and claimed a sound away win against future F8 host Novi Beograd. This has set up a  do-or-die clash with Olympiacos for the next round as the Greeks were sunk by Barceloneta. The  Spanish defence was tremendous once more – so now we see two teams with 20 points and another  two with 19 in the ranks, which promises sheer excitements for the remaining three rounds.  Group A: Zodiac Atletic Barceloneta (ESP) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) 9-5, Novi Beograd (SRB) v  FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) 11-14, Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) v Jadran Split (CRO) 13-10, AN  Brescia (ITA) v Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) 16-8  Standings: 1. Brescia 26, 2. Novi Beograd 20, 3. Barceloneta 20, 4. Olympiacos 19, 5. Ferencvaros 19,  6. Radnicki 13, 7. Jadran 9, 8. Dinamo 0  Barceloneta found the right rhythm in February and was able to carry on that after one month: the  Spaniards’ defence worked brilliantly in the last three rounds, keeping Radnicki on 3, Ferencvaros on 7  and now Olympiacos on 5 goals. Indeed, after their dominant performance against the Greeks it’s hard  to see them not making the Final Eight.  On contrary, Ferencvaros bounced back spectacularly after miserable back-to-back defeats in February.  The Magyars did a splendid job in Belgrade, they had a tremendous run when they rushed to a 3-8 lead  after 2-2, holding the Serbian scoring machine on a single goal for almost 14 minutes. Later they always  had the answers when Novi Beograd managed to reduce the gap to two goals a couple of times. Now  they are on level in points with Olympiacos – and these two face off in Piraeus next Saturday; it’s a  rematch of the 2019 final but now the F8 appearance is at stake.  Brescia’s undefeated run came to an and one month ago as Novi Beograd caught them in their own pool  but with the Serbs’ setback, the Italians had a clear chance to double their lead as they met bottom ranked Dinamo. And they didn’t make any mistake, after a slow start a 6-1 storm in the third was more  than enough to secure the win and to rebuild the six-point lead ahead of the others.  In the ‘lower house’ Radnicki came back from 5-8 down with a remarkable second half against Jadran – they have an extremely slim hope of making the cut, but this would rather belong to the category of  miracles.  Recaps  Barceloneta v Olympiacos 9-5  Barceloneta seems to be the team in this group which managed to maintain its brilliant form from  February. The Spaniards went through some struggles around the turn of the year, but a great win in  Kragujevac and an even bigger in Budapest marked a great transformation – and they just carried on  with that against Olympiacos. Indeed, their defence reached a fantastic level: they conceded 3 in Kragujevac, 7 in Budapest and now held the Greeks on 5 goals, the fewest Olympiacos  scored in a game this season (for the second time, they also netted 5 upon losing at home to Brescia).  The Spaniards forced the visitors’ top shooters to outside attempts, their vibrant defending style left  only a handful of occasions when the top guns of Olympiacos saw a clear view of the goal. Altogether  only 13 shots were on target from the Greek camp, out of 28, their best scorers’ shooting percentage  was anything but: Genidounias 2/8, Fountoulis 0/3, Filipovic 2/8 – 4/19 combined, a full appraisal of  the Spanish defence.  The Greeks could score at 2-0, after 6:51 minutes, then Barceloneta started extending the gap to go 5-2  up in the second – Filipovic hit his second 13 seconds from time, though few would have guessed that  the 2021 LEN Award winner Olympic champion would not add any more in the remaining of the game.  Olympiacos virtually sank in the third as the Spaniards shut them out in the entire period, while Luke  Pavillard netted from action from their first possession, then 33 seconds to go Felipe Perrone buried a  man-up for 7-3 and it was clear that this evening there would be no way back for the Greeks.  They needed almost four more minutes to come a bit closer, Genidounias buried a penalty to halt their  11:51 minute-long scoreless run but Oscar Asenso’s great centre-shot put an end to the contest with  3:39 to go. Two more goals, one apiece, were scored in the remaining time, so Barceloneta is very much  back in business and since they have a home game with Dinamo and an away match in Split, their F8  appearance is very much in sight now. At the same time, Olympiacos faces Ferencvaros in a do-or-die  game in a little more than a week and the Greeks need a tremendous lift in form to keep their F8 hopes  alive.  Novi Beograd v Ferencvaros 11-14  One month is a long time – and can turn everything upside down. Back in February Novi Beograd was  on the rise, the team showed real signs of improvement and when they beat Brescia in Italy, they  seemed to find the right track. On the contrary, Ferencvaros was miserable, a shocking defeat in Split,  followed by a huge blow, a 10-goal thrashing against Barceloneta at home.  However, that was then – and this time the Hungarians produced a game very much reminiscent of their  heydays. They were disciplined, still creative, and very much in control at both ends in the pool. Their  first stunning run came in the first period after 2-2 when they scored three extraman goals from three  connecting possessions within 2:05 minutes to go 2-5 up. One goal apiece was netted before the action packed, 9-goal opening period finished – to be followed by a giant battle, when defences tightened up  and the net was found only once, by Szilard Jansik who netted a brilliant action goal for

Jug joins Recco and Marseille in the F8, Hannover passes OSC  With a fine win, Jug booked its spot in the Final Eight as expected, while Recco and Marseille  kept on winning so their battle for the top spot is still open. The French’s winning streak now  stands at 10 matches, this last one came at the expense of OSC, and since Hannover beat Crvena  Zvezda, the Germans got ahead of the Magyars in the ranks so their encounter in Budapest next  week will probably decide the last available berth.  Group B: Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) v Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 14-11, Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v Pro  Recco (ITA) 6-11, CN Marseille (FRA) v Genesys OSC Budapest (HUN) 13-9, Jug Adriatic Osiguranje  Dubrovnik (CRO) v Steaua Bucharest (ROU) 14-7  Standings: 1. Recco 30, 2. Marseille 30, 3. Jug 24, 4. Hannover 14, 5. OSC 13, 6. Spandau 10, 7.  Steaua 4, 8. Zvezda 4  After losing to Recco in the opening round, Marseille turned onto the winning track, and no one could  derail their campaign ever since. OSC arrived to France with high hopes based on their brave  performance in Recco, but after the French set the tone with a 3-0 start, the Magyars could never come  closer than two goals.   It cost them the fourth place as Hannover overcame some early scares against Crvena Zvezda and with  the brilliant shots of its lefties Ivan Nagaev and Fynn Schutze – they netted 7 combined –, the Germans  built a commanding four-goal lead in the third period and never looked back. In the next round  Hannover visits OSC – that clash will most probably decisive in the run for the last available F8 berth.  The third one has just been booked by Jug – it was not surprising as the Croats had an easy task and  they delivered against Steaua at home. After 2-2 they had a 5-0 rush to leave no excitements for the  second half. Jug has made the Final for the 6th time in a row, though after consecutive semi-final  appearances they missed the top four in the last two editions, but they have been definitely on the rise in  recent weeks.  Title-holder Recco didn’t have any headaches in Berlin, they had three good periods only to slow down  for the last eight minutes. The Italians still won comfortably though they scored the fewest goals, 11,  while winning a game in this season.  Recaps  Marseille v OSC 13-9  The French kicked off the game in style, buried three of their first four man-ups to go 3-0 up while the  Hungarians couldn’t create any real danger in front. They finally opened their account after 5:24  minutes but could not reduce the gap further as after a killed man-down they missed their second man up before the first break. This pattern continued in the following period: the French had a couple of chances to  increase their lead, but the Magyars defended well, however, they were unable to capitalise on that and  soon Marseille found the way to regain some comfort. The hosts did really well in the 6 on 5s, their  outside shooters usually found the holes, so they led 6-3 at halftime. OSC, which had come up with  some spectacular offensive performances in Dubrovnik and in Recco thanks to their brilliant shots from  the perimeter, struggled this time in front – the three goals they scored in 16 minutes were a clear proof  for that.  When Vladan Spaic put away another extra – this time from the 2m line – Marseille seemed to have it at  7-3 but OSC found the tools to finish two man-ups in 58 seconds to climb back to 7-5. And they denied  another French man-up but were unable to cut their deficit to a single-goal – and in the last 90 seconds  Marseille scored two fine action goals, Andrija Prlainovic and Ugo Crousillat let the ball fly from the  distance – Manhercz’s goal between the two was little more than a consolation.  The French opened the last period with an easily converted 6 on 4 for 10-6, but OSC unleashed a last  surge and with two hits in 48 seconds they trailed only by two again at 10-8 with 6:05 minutes to go.  But Crousillat’s another blast from action killed their last momentum just 21 seconds later and the leftie  put an end to the contest in a minute as he made it 12-8 (he finished the evening with 5 goals). Even  though there were 4:40 minutes to go, OSC was done – two more goals were scored, one apiece, so  Marseille claimed an easier-than-expected win, their 10th straight victory. At the same time, OSC fell  one point behind Hannover so the clash with the Germans in Budapest next week will be a do-or-die  match.  Hannover v Zvezda 14-11  Zvezda opened the match in a stunning mood and quickly jumped to a 1-3 lead and held on for 4-5 deep  into the second quarter. Then the Serbs started fading a bit and the hosts’ lefties turned the cards, Fynn Schutze and Ivan Nagaev scored a series of fine goals from the perimeter. Hannover led 6-5 at halftime  and soon the lefties put them three goals up, then Alexandar Radovic converted a penalty for 10-6.   The Serbs didn’t let it go, though, a double in the last 39 seconds brought them back to 10-8 before the  final period, however, they were unable to come any closer. After a quick exchange of goals, Schutze  netted his fourth to reset the four-goal gap – but Zvezda fought on and pulled two back once more, so it  stood 13-11 with 1:33 to go, still, the Serbs didn’t have any realistic chance to grab at least a point. In  fact, Jon Winkelhorst and the Germans had the last laugh as he scored from the last counter to secure  three extremely valuable points to Hannover.  Spandau v Recco 6-11  The Italians didn’t leave much doubt that they would collect