October 2023

Group leaders Ferencvaros and Barceloneta managed to defeat their respective arch-rivals, Jadran Split and Marseille, in intense battles, positioning themselves well to reach the quarter-final round. A thrilling 30-shot shootout determined the outcome between Jadran Herceg Novi and Crvena Zvezda, while Spandau secured second place in its group by narrowly edging out Vouliagmeni. Group C: Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) v Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 8-8, pen: 13-12,FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) v Jadran Split (CRO) 13-11. Standings: 1. FTC 9, 2. Split 6, 3. Herceg Novi 2, 4. Zvezda 1 Group D: Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) 14-13, Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP) v CN Marseille (FRA) 9-7. Standings: 1. Barceloneta 9, 2. Spandau 6, 3. Marseille 3, 4. Vouiagmeni 0 Host teams won extremely tough battles in Group C. The leader, FTC, staged a brilliant third period, hammered six goals against Jadran Split, and seemed to have secured the victory at 11-6. But the Croats didn’t give in, they hit back with five goals in the fourth period and Some Vogel’s incredible save prevented them from closing the gap to one goal two minutes before the end. In ten seconds, Denes Varga closed down the contest, landing a third win for the Hungarians.   Crvena Zvezda kept the game under control for most of the time in Herceg Novi, leading 5-8 early in the fourth period. Still, in the last three minutes, the host Jadran staged a 3-0 run to save the game to a shootout. The match turned into an endless rally of penalties, and the decision came in the 15th round when the 30th shot was saved by Darko Durovic, earning two crucial points for the Montenegrins. In Group D, Barceloneta bagged a big win over Marseille in a heated battle. The Spaniards stormed to a 3-0 lead, but their rivals mounted a comeback to level the score at 4-4 by halftime. The hosts geared up once more, after two man-up hits in 1:45 minutes, Felipe Perrone scored his trademark goal from a counterattack, giving them a two-goal advantage going into the fourth period. Marseille halved the gap twice but couldn’t level the score and Alejandro Bustos’ close-range shot from a 6 on 5 secured Barceloneta’s third win. Spandau dominated the first half against Vouliagmeni, early on the Germans led 6-2 and they were 9-6 up at halftime. However, the Greeks had a brilliant spell in the third quarter, netting three in a row to level the score at 9-9. Spandau missed four extras in this quarter before netting the fifth regaining the lead with 46 seconds remaining in the period for a score of 10-9. The fourth was a real thriller. Vouliagmeni equalised twice, then the home side hit two in 50 seconds for a 13-11 lead. The Greeks erased that deficit too, making it 13-13 with a minute remaining. Nevertheless, Spandau had the last laugh, as Tyler Abrahamson’s excellent wing shot won the game for the Berliners, who, with back-to-back home victories, have become serious contenders for a spot in the quarter-finals. On the contrary, Vouliagmeni played three entertaining matches, each producing 23+ goals but lost each by one or two goals.

Scoring the last five goals, Sabadell shocked Novi Beograd, runner-up in the last two editions. Title-holder Recco won a thriller against Olympiacos in the big match of the day to top the group of death with three wins midway through the group stage. Group A: Novi Beograd (SRB) v Astralpool CN Sabadell (ESP) 10-12, Steaua Bucharest (ROU) v AN Brescia (ITA) 8-17. Standings: 1. Sabadell 7, 2. NBG 6, 3. Brescia 5, 3. Steaua 0 Group B: Pro Recco (ITA) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) 12-11, Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v Jug Adriatic Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO) 5-12. Standings: 1. Recco 9, 2. Olympiacos 5, 3. Jug 4, 4. Sabadell 0 For quite a while, Novi Beograd seemed to be well on their way to claiming another comfortable win, just ten days after they beat Brescia 13-8 in Italy. The Serbs stormed to a 3-0 lead and maintained the distance for almost three periods. They were still 10-7 up with 1:52 to go, and there was no sign of what was coming, even though the Spaniards pulled one goal back soon. Then Alberto Barroso scored quickly in the fourth quarter, and NBG started experiencing a meltdown. The situation became more and more serious as the world-class players of the hosts were unable to put the ball away in a series of 6-on-5s. They missed their last six opportunities, while Barroso was on fire, scoring two more goals, which ultimately won the match for Sabadell. Their 0-5 run sealed the victory, propelling the Spaniards to the top of Group A, while Novi Beograd remained scoreless in the last 9 minutes and 52 seconds. Brescia also had a 0-5 run in Bucharest, which decided the outcome. This came after a surprisingly balanced opening period, but the Italians geared up and led 3-8, finishing with 17 goals at the end. In the day’s marquee match, Recco chased Olympiacos throughout the entire first half. The Greeks jumped to a 0-3 lead, later extending it to 5-7 and 7-9. However, the titleholders kept coming back and even managed to take the lead 3 seconds before the midway break. Olympiacos could only equalize after falling behind 9-7, but that was the last time. Recco scored two more goals and managed to maintain a one-goal advantage until the end as Olympiacos failed to convert their last six 6-on-5s. Jug secured its first three points in the group, as expected. They made no mistake in Tbilisi, allowing the Georgians to score their first goal only after 21:25 minutes, at 0-9. Therefore, they are still on track to keep up with the other two big teams in Group B. Fixtures for Wednesday Group C 19.00 Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) v Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 20.45 FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) v Jadran Split (CRO) Group D 19.30 Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) 20.00 Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP) v CN Marseille (FRA)

Group A: Novi Beograd (SRB) v Astralpool Sabadell (ESP) 10-12 The hosts kicked off the match in commanding style. Alvaro Granados scored two goals against his fellow Spaniards, and Angelos Vlachopoulos added another man-up goal, giving NBG a 3-0 lead. They seemed to carry on their momentum from the previous match, where they claimed a significant 13-8 win against Brescia. Later, the visitors managed to set up their Dutch center-forward, Guus van Ijperen, for back-to-back man-up goals, but NBG still led 4-2 after eight minutes. The trends didn’t change much in the second period, only slightly. Sabadell’s man-down defense improved a bit, but NBG ‘replaced’ that tool with action goals, netting two in this phase. Additionally, Vlachopoulos buried a penalty, and the Serbs sat comfortably in the driving seat, holding a 7-4 lead. Perhaps they felt too comfortable, as they couldn’t score for more than three minutes. After making it 8-5, Sabadell quickly scored twice in 80 seconds, showing the first sign that they had no intention of giving up. This time, NBG had an answer, and it was spectacular, with two goals in 42 seconds, extending their lead to 10-7, with 1:52 left on the clock. Few would have guessed at this point that this would be NBG’s last goal of the day. Perhaps no one foresaw what Sabadell was about to produce in the remaining ten minutes. Even though Blai Mallarach pulled one back from an extra, still, the 10-8 lead and the hosts’ superiority in individual quality seemed to promise a smooth ending. It never happened, though. Alberto Barroso netted another goal with a fine shot from the perimeter, just 47 seconds into the fourth quarter. NBG missed back-to-back man-up in the same possession, and then a third one a bit later. This backfired, as Sabadell earned a penalty, which Francesco Valera converted to make it 10-10 with 4:17 minutes remaining.   As the pressure mounted and the hosts’ game didn’t click, they started to fall apart. Their next man-up went without a shot, while Barroso showed the way to score from a 6-on-5. Sabadell took the lead for the first time in the game with 2:55 to go. Filip Filipovic, known for scoring decisive goals in his heyday, sent the ball wide from the following extra-man. Meanwhile, Barroso was on fire, finding the hole between the blocking hand in a 6m attempt to make it 10-12, leaving only 41 seconds remaining in the game. Not surprisingly, NBG missed their last 6-on-5 opportunity – they were 0 for 6 in the last period and were unable to score in the last 9:52 minutes. Sabadell secured three points with a 0-5 run, putting them in the pole position at the halfway mark in the group stage. Comments from the coaches Zivko Gocic, coach, Novi Beograd “It’s difficult to say something clever after this game. We lost to a very good team, though I think we are the better side, but we played badly from the second period. Our concentration level was not good enough, we needed to analyse this match to find out how to move on. We have to fight till the end to qualify for the next stage.” Quim Colet, coach, Sabadell “This was a spectacular victory for my team. Our players’ mentality is great, and this is a very important win for us. Our team keeps improving, today we had another step up in our performance.”

Group B: Pro Recco (ITA) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) 12-11 The two water polo giants produced a fantastic encounter, and the capacity crowd was loud and enthusiastic as they enjoyed the prime-time entertainment. Well, at the beginning the stands were in silence as the Greeks took a dream start and led 0-3 with 3:37 to go in the first. The title-holders’ first goal came more than a minute later, from a penalty, and that ‘switched on’ their offence. Soon Aaron scored their second one in action, then they denied the Greeks’ next man-up. With time remaining to level the score, Ben Hallock made it 3-3 from a 6 on 5, five seconds from time. The script didn’t change much in the second period. Olympiacos regained a two-goal lead early on, but the hosts equalised in 47 seconds. Soon, two Greek goals more came, now they netted from back-to-back possessions in 34 seconds for 5-7. This didn’t last long either, Gergo Zalanki’s fierce shot halved the gap. Olympiacos missed a crucial man-up and Francesco di Fulvio’s blast brought back Recco to even once more at 7-7, with 0:50 from the clock. Once again, the Italians had the last laugh as Francesco Condemi also scored a nice one from action 3 seconds from time, making it 8-7. Giacomo Cannella doubled Recco’s lead from the first possession in the third period. However, it was Olympiacos’ turn to erase the two-goal deficit which they did by converting two man-ups in a row in 67 seconds, tying the game at for 9-9. Andrea Fondelli replied from a man-up, and in 40 seconds, Condemi made it 11-9 from close. Then the Greeks missed a 6 on 4. Recco missed a big chance at the end of a counter to go three goals up and that hit back as Konstantinos Genidounias buried a penalty for 11-10. Both sides missed a man-up still in the third, setting the stage for a thrilling fourth period. After almost three minutes of enormous battling, Ben Hallock delivered a huge one from the centre, and the Greeks blew two more big chances as the blocks denied them in consecutive 6 on 5s. Missed opportunities followed one another in succession, with the Italians also wasting their extra-man chances. Finally, the Greeks could hit theirs after collecting a rebound for 12-11, with 1:32 to go. Olympiacos had one more shot at a shootout but Fountoulis hit the bar from their 6 on 5. The Greeks missed 6 man-ups alone in the fourth. It’s worth noting that only a single save was recorded for Recco’s goalie, Marco del Lungo. Nonetheless, the Greeks’ shot-making and man-up play didn’t work this evening, as they were 4 for 16. Comments from the coaches Sandro Sukno, coach, Recco “Congratulations to my boys and also to Olympiacos. It was a very interesting and nice match with high intensity. In the beginning, their goalie made some big saves but then our attack started working. It was a tough game, but we played against an excellent team. It’s great to be ranked first after three rounds before this little break.” Hrvoje Koljanin, coach, Olympiacos “It was a game as everybody expected. Recco is one of the best teams in Europe, if not the best – we tried to give our best, and the boys gave everything to get something bigger in this game than we got at the end. It was a really good fight and we got some extra motivation to get better towards the end of the group stage.”

Group A: Steaua Bucharest (ROU) v AN Brescia (ITA) 8-17 Although Brescia initially took the lead, the Romanians responded well by equalizing twice. They even went ahead 3-2 late in the first period, but Jacopo Alesiani leveled the score just 9 seconds before the end, resulting in a surprising 3-3 tie after eight minutes. However, the Italians stepped up their game in the next quarter, scoring two goals in just 22 seconds. Max Irving’s man-up show was followed by Alesiani’s counter, and within a minute, Irving buried a penalty shot as well, making it 3-6. The hosts lost ground, they were unable to break Brescia’s defence while Alesiani hit another one from a counter. Djorde Lazic offered another glimpse of his magic while scoring a brilliant one from the centre. This completed Brescia’s decisive run. They staged a 0-5 rout in the second period and that killed the party. Steaua managed to halt Brescia’s surge at 3-9 and scored after 11:31 minutes. However, the Italians continued to dominate in the action-packed third period, adding five more goals and expanding their lead to seven goals, making it 13-6 at the last break. The Italians finished with 17 goals in total, with Mario del Basso netting four to secure his team’s first win in the group stage this season. Comments from the coaches Bogdan Rath, coach, Steaua No quote in English Sandro Bovo, coach, Brescia “I’m happy with the team’s performance, even at the beginning we played well but Steaua also did a good job. We tried to play with a high speed from the beginning and it started to work in our favour from the second period. We did well in defence, we were aggressive, and it was a good game.”

Group B: Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v Jug Adriatic Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO) 5-12 Jug left no chance for the Georgians as the Croats played with tremendous focus right from the beginning. Toni Popadic was excellent in their goal, behind an outstanding defence which killed the man-downs in succession while looking formidable on even strength. At the other end, they dismantled the hosts’ defensive lines step by step. They netted two in the first four minutes, then added the next one at the beginning of the second period. Understandably, their defensive focus took away some energy from their attacks at this stage. However, as Dinamo players were tired, the gap began to widen. Hannes Daube sent the ball home from a penalty, and then from an extra, giving the Croats a 0-5 lead by halftime. After some time, the situation looked bad for the Georgians as they couldn’t score from three more 6 on 5s in the third period (stood 0 for 8), while Jug went on scoring and led 0-8. The hosts needed a 6 on 4 to score their first goal, after 21:15 minutes, but Marko Zuvela also scored from an extra for 1-9. Dinamo found some consolation as Jug’s defence loosened up a bit. After scoring only one goal in three periods, they managed to add four in the last quarter, resulting in a final score that looked a bit more favorable than in their previous two matches. Comments from the coaches Dejan Stanojevic, coach, Dinamo „We saw two different halves, in the first Jug was dominant, while we had nine man-ups and didn’t score a single goal from those. Of course, Jug had a good defence, they were aggressive and left little space for us, and after the first miss, our players got nervous and lost their focus a bit also Jug’s goalie stopped a lot of shots. But we didn’t give up and played a good second half. This match was a lot better compared to our last one against Olympiacos – of course, we know our level, especially among these teams in our group but this was a good step forward.” Vjekoslav Kobescak, coach, Jug “We played a really good match, I’m satisfied with the team’s performance. In the first three periods, our defence was excellent, we did everything well with the necessary concentration. We managed to stop their best players, this was key. Dinamo is a strong team that can put you under pressure as they have physically strong players but today did our job – but in two months it can be a different match.”

NBG, Recco, FTC, CNAB push to keep pole position Playing at home, Novi Beograd, Recco, Ferencvaros, and Barceloneta are all well-positioned to further strengthen their pole positions in their respective groups by winning in the previous two rounds. The current leaders of these groups are well-prepared to maintain their lead as the group stage reaches its halfway mark on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is not surprising, considering that three of the four sides were medalists from last season: Recco, Novi Beograd, and Barceloneta, along with Ferencvaros, which secured medals in three consecutive editions before finishing 6th last May. In Group A, the runner-up, Novi Beograd, secured a crucial victory in Brescia and now faces Sabadell at home – a seemingly easier task, although the Spanish team also had an excellent run so far. Meanwhile, Brescia is faced with a must-win match in Bucharest, as they only managed a shootout victory in the first Title-holder Recco was more than convincing in Dubrovnik and now they can complete their ‘first-half’ run by beating Olympiacos. That’s going to be their toughest challenge so far, but they are the favourites when playing at home, even against the strong Greek team. To retain some hope of making the cut, Jug should beat Dinamo in Tbilisi, which should not be a problem for the Croatians, as the Georgians suffered heavy defeats against Recco and Olympiacos. Another big match of the round is the clash of the Hungarian and Croatian champions. Both Ferencvaros and Jadran Split claimed two wins so far in Group C. Three more points would more-or-less secure a quarter-final berth for the triumphant side on Wednesday. After a pair of losses, Jadran Herceg Novi and Crvena Zvezda meet in a crucial encounter where the winner will gain some advantage in the race for third place and keeps slim hope to make the quarters. Another win for Barceloneta in Group D would mean a clear path to the quarter-finals, especially after Marseille’s shocking loss in Berlin. The French should go for an upset in Barcelona but based on their poor defensive performance in the German capital, they would need a miraculous improvement to have a shot at a positive result against last season’s bronze medallists. On the contrary, Spandau can go for another big victory. Vouliagmeni shall be a really tough opponent as the Greeks played two extremely close matches, though lost both narrowly. If Vouliagmeni, a surprise semi-finalist last May, could land a win, it would really cause a big stir in this group. Champions League, Group State, Round 3 (all times are CET) Group A (Tuesday) 17.30 Steaua Bucharest (ROU) v AN Brescia (ITA) 19.45 Novi Beograd (SRB) v Astralpool CN Sabadell (ESP) Group B (Tuesday) 17.00 Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v Jug Adriatic Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO) 19.00 Pro Recco (ITA) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) Group C (Wednesday) 19.00 Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) v Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 20.45 FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) v Jadran Split (CRO) Group D (Wednesday) 19.30 Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) 20.00 Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP) v CN Marseille (FRA) Champions League, Group State, Round 3 (all times are CET) Group A (Tuesday) Steaua Bucharest (ROU) v AN Brescia (ITA) First two rounds: STE: 7-19 v Novi Beograd (away), 8-11 v Sabadell (home) BRE: 10-9 (pen) v Sabadell (a), 8-13 v NBG (h) Head-to-head: 0-2 2018-19: 5-8, 9-13 Novi Beograd (SRB) v Astralpool CN Sabadell (ESP) First two rounds: NBG: 19-7 v Steaua (h), 13-8 v Brescia (a) SAB: 9-10 (pen) v Brescia (h), 11-8 v Steaua (a) Head-to-head: 2-0 2022-23: 16-11, 8-6 Group B (Tuesday) Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v Jug Adriatic Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO) First two rounds: DIN: 6-15 v Recco (a), 6-19 v Olympiacos (h) JUG: 15-16 (pen) v Olympiacos (a), 7-14 v Recco (h) Head-to-head: Never met in CL Pro Recco (ITA) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) First two rounds: REC: 15-6 v Dinamo (h), 14-7 v Jug (a) OLY: 16-15 (pen) v Jug (h), 19-6 v Dinamo (a) Head-to-head: 5-3 2022-23: 10-9, 7-9. 2020-21: 14-8, 13-6. 2018-19, semi-final: 11-12. 2017-18, final: 7-8. 2014-15: 12-8, 17-12 Group C (Wednesday) Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) v Crvena Zvezda (SRB) First two rounds: JHN: 7-9 v FTC (a), 10-11 v Split (h) CRV: 13-16 v Jadran SP (a), 6-16 v FTC (h) Head-to-head: Never met in CL FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) v Jadran Split (CRO) First two rounds: FTC: 9-7 v Jadran HN (h), 16-6 v Zvezda (a) JSP: 16-13 v Crvena Zvezda (h), 11-10 v Herceg Novi (a) Head-to-head: 1-1 2021-22: 14-8, 7-9 Group D (Wednesday) Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) First two rounds: SPA: 6-16 v Barceloneta (a), 13-10 v Marseille (h) VOU: 13-15 v Marseille (a), 11-12 v Barceloneta (h) Head-to-head: Never met in CL Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP) v CN Marseille (FRA) First two rounds: BAR: 16-6 v Spandau (h), 12-11 v Vouliagmeni (a) MAR: 15-13 v Vouliagmeni (h), 10-13 v Spandau (a) Head-to-head: Never met in CL

Spandau stunned Marseille, also helping to restore some pride for the host teams, as the Germans were the only ones to secure all three points at home in this round. In the other three matches, just as in all four encounters on Friday, the favorites secured crucial away wins. Although both Barceloneta and Jadran Split experienced some tense moments before winning their nail-biters in Vouliagmeni and Herceg Novi, respectively, only Ferencvaros enjoyed an easy victory in Belgrade. Group C: VK Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) v VK Jadran Split (CRO) 10-11, Crvena Zvezda (SRB) v FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) 6-16 Group D: Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) v Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP) 11-12, Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v CN Marseille (FRA) 13-10 In the Adriatic battle, Jadran Split opened the match splendidly and gained a 2-5 lead, but the other Jadran, host Herceg Novi quickly leveled the score at 5-5. The Croats took back the lead three times in the third. Still, before the last period the Montenegrins went ahead for the first time at 9-8. In the thrilling finish Luka Bukic netted on a man-up to make it 10-10. Even though there were still 4:27 minutes to play, the home side couldn’t go even as they missed the last two 6 on 5s. On the contrary, Ferencvaros won easily in Belgrade. Crvena Zvezda’s youngsters did well at the early stages, even led 4-3 one minute into the second quarter. But then the Hungarians – and their outstanding foreigners – geared up, scoring four unanswered goals until halftime and adding five more in the third quarter. This 0-8 rush closed down the contest. The shooting stats are enough to highlight the difference: while the total number of shots stood at 29-31, those on target were 14-28. Group D offered even more excitement. Vouliagmeni was the surprise side in the Final Eight last May. After upsetting Brescia in the quarters and displaying some heroics moments against Recco in the semis, they almost caught Barceloneta for the bronze medal, but lost in the penalty shootout at the end. Despite losing a couple of key players in the summer, the Greeks stepped up once more and almost did it again. Until halftime, they were dominating against the Spaniards, leading 7-4, but Perrone&Co. stepped up in the third, hitting four in a row to start a new game. The Greeks hit back with a double and still led 10-9 early in the fourth quarter, but Bernat Sanahuja netted two in succession. Nemanja Ubovic’s shot only tied the game at 11-11 two minutes from time. Nikolas Paul Garcia still won it for Barceloneta with a distant blast 46 seconds before the buzzer. Spandau was considered the underdog in this group, the Germans proved once more that, especially in Berlin, they could be a threat to any team. A 3-0 opening against Marseille set the tone, and the 7-2 halftime lead was already a true power demonstration. The French tried to climb back but they were unable to erase the huge deficit, and this loss may have painful consequences in the long term.

Group D: Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v CN Marseille (FRA) 13-10 After a series of promising seasons, including a Euro Cup triumph and two Final Eight appearances, Marseille had a miserable run last time, missing the cut for Belgrade, mostly due to losing all seven away matches. The French somewhat reshaped their team, bringing in more foreign aces, and they took a promising start by beating Vouliagmeni. However, they ran into another embarrassing defeat on the road, this time in Berlin. Spandau opened the match with a combat mood, quickly gaining a 3-0 lead. Even though two new additions, world champion Hungarians Daniel Angyal and Krisztian Manhercz, pulled two goals back, Tyler Abramson’s last-gasp action goal made it 4-2. However, the bigger troubles happened to Marseille in the second period. Marek Tkac hit one from action, then the home defence killed a man-down. Tkac scored another action goal, followed by another denied man-up from the visitors. Spandau also missed a 6 on 5 but converted the following one and led 7-2, to the astonishment of many. The hosts’ Hungarian, Laszlo Baksa had one of those few matches when he was simply unbeatable in the goal, playing a tremendous role in denying three more man-ups for Marseille. The first minute of the third period saw one goal for each team. Then, the French had a better spell, with Andrija Prlainovic netting two extra goals and the defense killing a man-down in between. However, veteran Marko Stamm killed their momentum by sending the ball home from Spandau’s next extra, making it 9-5. Marseille missed two more man-up and conceded another one, but Ugo Crousillat’s hit was enough to cut the gap to four before the last break. Denis Strelezkij scored another one from action 40 seconds into the fourth period, making it 11-6, and it was hard to see Marseille staging a comeback. They had a try, it was promising as in a span of two minutes they scored three from as many possessions and also killed a man-down. Then had a 6 on 5 which would have cut the gap to a single goal but they missed it, and Marin Tomasevic punished them with another great goal for 12-9. Alessandro Velotto pulled one back, but Spandau earned a man-up, and Tomasovic hammered it in from the wing for 13-10 with 1:40 remaining. Their defence denied one last 6 on 5, holding Marseille 5 on 14, a key figure for Spandau’s stunning win which dealt a huge blow for the French to their quest of making the quarters at least. Comments from the coaches Athanasios Kechagias, coach, Spandau Congrats both teams – they played a great game. Defence – was the key. Every part in the game was good for us Milos Scepanovic, coach, Marseille We knew it woind nbe easy here We did not expect loss We should analyse – try to find solutions whe Difficult defeat – push hard to search points in Problems – concentration – bad reactions in offence – good defence At the end we had some moments but it was too late