There is only one available spot in the Quarter Final Stage of the Conference Cup before the final day of the second stage.
After an action-packed third competition day, seven teams have qualified for the next stage: two Greek clubs, Apollon Smyrnis and Panionios; two Italian sides, De Akker and Posillipo; as well as Mornar (Croatia), Honved (Hungary), and Mataro (Spain).
The only remaining question is which team from Group B (Split) will join Mornar: Tenerife or ZV De Zaan.
In the other three groups, the qualified sides will face off to determine the 1st- and 2nd-placed clubs in each tournament. This is important because of the pots for the draw of the Quarter Final groups.
2026 Conference Cup, Stage 2, Day 3
GROUP A (Potsdam), Round 2
Partizan – Panionos 11:13 (2:3, 4:2, 3:5, 2:3)
Partizan: K.Bodiroga 3, Neskovic 3, Djokanovic 3, V.Bodiroga 1, Papic 1.
Panionios:Gounas 6, Bitsakos 5, Kapetanakis 2.
OSC Potsdam – Apollon Smyrnis 8:19 (2:4, 2:6, 1:6, 3:3)
OSC Potsdam: Hofmann 4, Kob 2, Taubert 1, Goethke 1.
Apollon Smyrnis: Daube 5, Kapotsis 3, Laskaridis 3, Myrilos 2, Solanakis 2, Mitrakis 2, Rompopoulos 1.
Each Greek team has a 2-0 record, and they will battle for the top spot tomorrow.
The crucial match of the day at the Potsdam tournament was an encounter between Partizan and Panionios. The Greeks established a 2-goal lead in the second quarter (4:2 and 5:3). However, midway through the 2nd period, Partizan managed to impose its rhythm and turn the game around. In the third period, the Serbs went to 8:6. Following that, Panionios forced three penalty fouls in three consecutive attacks. An experienced Alexandros Gounas converted all three shots from the 5m line, and his team regained a lead (9:8). Partizan leveled the score once (9:9). But, Panionios controlled the game until the end.
Gounas was the top scorer with six goals, five of which were penalty shots. Panionios had six penalty shots in the game and Gounas converted five, while Partizan failed to score on its only penalty shot attempt.
Apollon cruised to a win over OSC Potsdam.
Standings: 1. Apollon 6, 2. Panionios 6, 3. Partizan 0, 4. OSC Potsdam 0.
GROUP B (Split), Round 2
ZV De Zaan – Rapid Bucharest 17:13 (4:4, 5:5, 5:1, 3:3)
ZV De Zaan: Rempt 5, Meijn 4, Garancsy 3, Bucevic 2, Bakker 2, Janssen 1.
Rapid Bucharest: Goreta 4, Vrbnjak 2, Giga 1, Rath 1, Stancu 1, Brebnel 1, Baciu 1.
Tenerife – Mornar 13:18 (4:4, 4:4, 3:5, 2:5)
Tenerife: Araya 5, Andion 4, Diaz 2, De Weerd 1, Gorria 1.
Mornar: Zivkovic 6, D.Akrap 5, Penava 3, Stojanac 2, Hrvatic 1, R.Akrap 1.
ZV De Zaan defeated Rapid in the first match of the evening in Split, but the highlight of the day was the the encounter between Tenerife and Mornar.
After an 8:8 first half, Mornar opened the third quarter excellently. The Croats scored four goals in two and a half minutes and built a 12:8 lead. But, Tenerife didn’t give in. The Spaniards cut the deficit to one goal early in the fourth period (12:13). Still, Mornar didn’t let them go further and recorded a nice 18:13 victory.
Mornar, which will play against Rapid tomorrow, secured a spot in the next stage. ZV De Zaan and Tenerife will battle for the second ticket for the Top 8 round.
Standings: 1. Mornar 5, 2. ZV De Zaan 4, 3. Tenerife 3, 4. Rapid 0.
GROUP C (Montpellier)
Round 3
A-Polo Sport Management – De Akker 15:16 (5:3, 2:4, 3:1, 2:4, PSO 3:4)
Sport Management: Vuksanovic 3, Alekseev 3, Bitadze 2, Rogac 1, Jakhaia 1, Mudrazija 1, Vukicevic 1.
De Akker: Bragantini 3, Campopiano 2, Milakovic 2, Erdely 2, Martini 1, McFarland 1, Lucci 1.
Primorje – Honved 9:10 (2:2, 5:3, 0:2, 2:3)
Primorje: Dujmic 3, Brubnjak 2, Dragosevic 1, Rakovac 1, Burburan 1, Babic 1.
Honved: Moskov 5, Vickovic 2, Bencz 1, Ekler 1, Simon 1.
Honved became the first team to qualify for the Top 8 round after the outcomes of the morning session games in Montpellier.
De Akker beat Sport Management. It was the Georgian team’s third game that ended after a penalty shootout. On Day 1, it lost to Honved, then it earned two points against Primorje. Against De Akker, Sport Management had to settle for a point despite a dream start. The Georgians rushed to a three-goal lead (3:0, 4:1, 5:2) in the first quarter. But, the Italians leveled already in the 11th minute (5:5). Late into the second quarter, De Akker took the lead (7:6). Still, Sport Management regained control and led for most of the second half, while De Akker chased the rival and leveled at 8:8 11:11 and 12:12. Sport Management had no answer after De Akker’s 12th goal and the match entered the shootout.
After De Akker won two points, Honved learned that it needed three points against Primorje to secure at least 2nd place already after the 3rd round. The first half wasn’t promising for the Hungarians, as Primorje established a 7:4 lead in the 14th minute. However, Honved kept Primorje goalless for almost 16 minutes, while producing a 5:0 run and going ahead, 9:7. Late into the fourth quarter, Primorje woke up and scored twice in the 30th minute, within 30 seconds, to level at 9:9. But, Honved had the last word. Ekler scored the winner with 23 seconds left, sending the Hungarians to the Quarter Final Stage.
Round 4
Montpellier – A-Polo Sport Management 13:20 (3:5, 3:6, 4:4, 3:5)
Montpellier: Mustur 4, Pal Antal 4, Ben Romdhame 3, Stojanovic 2.
A-Polo Sport Management: Alekseev 5, Varga 3, Jakhaia 3, Vuksanovic 2, Mudrazija 2, Malyshau 1, Matchavarini 1, Bitadze 1, Rogac 1, Vukicevic 1.
Primorje – De Akker 14:17 (6:6, 0:4, 4:3, 4:4)
Primorje: Brubnjak 3, Dujmic 2, Snel 2, Babic 2, Crippa 2, Seman 1, Rakovac 1, Burburan 1.
De Akker: Bragantini 4, Campopiano 3, Erdely 3, Painter 2, Milakovic 2, Lucci 2, McFarland 1.
Sport Management finally won all three points, but the win over Montpellier didn’t help the Georgian club qualify for the next phase from a very balanced Group C. It will finish in 3rd place.
The first quarter of the match Primorje – De Akker saw 12 goals, but De Akker didn’t take the lead. Primorje dictated the pace and earned a 6:4 advantage in the sixth minute. But, the Croats didn’t keep their momentum. De Akker responded with a 6:0 run and jumped to a 10:6 lead before the middle break. Primorje halved its deficit twice in the third period (9:11 and 10:12). However, De Akker held back the Croats’ comeback attempts and joined Honved in the Top 8 round.
Standings: 1. De Akker 8 (3 games), 2. Honved 8 (3), 3. A-Polo 7 (4), 4. Primorje 1 (3), 5. Montpellier 0 (3)
GROUP D (Naples)
Round 3
Crvena Zvezda – Dinamo Tbilisi 11:9 (4:1, 2:4, 3;3, 2:1)
Crvena Zvezda: Gajic 6, Markovic 1, Krstic 1, Smiljevic 1, Radanovic 1, Radovic 1.
Dinamo: F. Averka 4, Bucan 3, Tkeshelashvili 2.
Mataro – Sete 22:7 (6:2, 6:2, 6:1, 4:2)
Mataro: Aguirre 6, Gil 3, Flaque 2, Castro 2, Bertran 2, Patchaliev 1, Magrina 1, Veich 1, Marti 1, Rodriguez.
Sete: Radojevic 3, Tomic 2, De Bie 1, Gomes 1.
Crvena Zvezda dominated in the first 12 minutes, and built a 6:1 advantage. However, in the rest of the game, fatigue became an important factor, as Crvena Zvezda has only 10 players in Naples. Dinamo managed to level the score late into the third quarter (8:8). Still, Crvena Zvezda, led by Rodoljub Gajic, a member of the Serbian U20 national team, won all three points.
Mataro showed no mercy to Sete.
Round 4
Posillipo – Crvena Zvezda 12:4 (2:1, 5:2, 4:0, 1:1)
Posillipo: Bertoli 4, Renzuto Iodice 2, Parrella 1, D.Radovic 1, Cuccovillo 1, Maksimovic 1, Milicic 1, Rocchino 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Gajic 2, Smiljevic 1, M. Radovic 1.
Dinamo – Mataro 9:17 (1:2, 1:6, 5:4, 2:5)
Dinamo Tbilisi:Bucan 4, Todua 2, Imnaishvili 2, Draskovic 1.
Mataro: Rodriguez 4, Castro 3, Gil 2, Flaque 2, Aguirre 2, Magrina 1, Veich 1, Bertran 1, Blanch 1.
Crvena Zvezda’s 10-player team didn’t have enough energy to be an equal opponent to Posillipo in its fourth match at the tournament. As in the previous games, Crvena Zvezda put on a solid performance in the first half. In the 12th minute, the teams were tied at 3:3. Over the next 12 minutes, POsillipo scored nine unanswered goals. The hosts entered the final quarter with a comfortable 11:3 lead, and the contest was over.
Mataro started slowly against Dinamo, but it knocked down the Georgians with a 6:1 second quarter. The Georgians reduced the gap to four goals twice in the third quarter. Mataro didn’t let them come closer and booked a ticket for the Quarter Final Stage with an 8-goal win.
Standings: 1. Posillipo 9 (3 games), 2. Mataro 9 (3), 3. Crvena Zvezda 5 (4), 4. Sete 1 (3), 5. Dinamo 0 (3).
More articles about the Conference Cup
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