Italian De Akker won the inaugural men’s Conference Cup. The Bologna-based team defeated Honved 17:14 in the final game held in Athens this evening, thanks to a second-half performance.
Apollon won the bronze medal, beating Panionios in the Greek derby, 15:13, in the third-place match.
2026 Conference Cup, Final Four Athens
Final
Honved – De Akker 14:17 (4:4,4:4, 3:4, 3:5)
Honved: Moskov 5,Ekler 4, Vickovic 2, Kevi 2, Simon 1.
De Akker:Lucci 4, Milakovic 4, Bragantini 3, McFarland 3, Campopiano 1, Painter 1, Erdely 1.
Honved and De Akker had faced each other earlier in the Conference Cup this season, with the Hungarians winning convincingly 15:10 at the Round 2 tournament in Montpellier. Based on that result and the performances of both clubs throughout the season, Honved entered the final match as a slight favorite. However, De Akker controlled the match when it mattered the most, particularly in the final quarter.
De Akker led 3:1 in the first quarter. Honved made a comeback, building an 8:6 lead deep into the second period. De Akker managed to catch up just before halftime with a goal from Balazs Erdelyi, 8:8.
In the second half, De Akker didn’t allow Honved to go ahead. Midway through the third quarter, De Akker’s captain, Kristijan Milakovic, converted a man-up opportunity, giving his team a 2-goal lead for the second time in the match at 11:9. Although Honved quickly leveled the score at 11:11, Milakovic scored again in the 24th minute, putting De Akker ahead 12:11 before the final period.
Honved struggled with man-up conversion throughout the match, missing many opportunities, which cost the Hungarians (De Akker committed 21 personal fouls, while Honved committed 12). In the 29th minute, Matteo Bragantini extended De Akker’s lead to three goals with a well-placed long-distance lob, making it 15:12. After that, Honved wasted two more power-play possessions. Francesco Lucci sealed De Akker’s victory with an action goal for 16:12, with 88 seconds remaining. Honved managed to cut the deficit to two goals when it was too late -Moskov, made it 14:16 with 27 seconds left. Lucci added one more goal six seconds before the buzzer, setting the final score.
3rd-place match
Apollon Smyrnis – Panionios 15:13 (4:6, 3:3, 6:2, 2:2)
Apollon: Gardikas 4, Bogdanovic 3, Laskaidis 3, Daube 3, Rompopoulos 1, Solanakis 1.
Panionios: A. Bitsakos3, Gounas 3, Karatzas 2, Suzuki 2, K. Bitsakos 1, Takata 1, Kapetanakis 1.
Panionios led by two goals at halftime (9:7) and had a slim 11:10 lead in the middle of the third quarter. Following Panionios’s 11th goal, Apollon went on a 3:0 run in a minute and a half and built a 13:11 lead. That series proved crucial for the outcome. In the final period, Panionios cut the deficit to one goal twice, but Apollon replied on both occasions, regaining a 2-goal advantage.
More articles about the Conference Cup
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