By soundly beating Super Cup winner Ferencvaros (HUN), Brescia is set to join fellow Italian side Recco and Barceloneta (ESP) as the teams which seem to be already on their way to the Final 8 from Group A. In the other group Jug (CRO) remained unbeaten as title-holder Olympiacos (GRE) could barely save a point at home. BPM (ITA) missed the big chance to build a seven-point gap ahead of the Greeks as they lost to Jadran (CRO), while 2017 champion Szolnok (HUN) got back into life after a great win in Zagreb. The scoring average per game broke the 20-goal barrier in this round.

Group A
Pro Recco (ITA) v Dynamo Moscow (RUS) 11-6, Steaua Buchuresti BA (ROU) v Atletic Barceloneta (ESP) 10-14, AN Brescia (ITA) v FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) 10-5, ZF-Eger (HUN) v Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 17-11

Standings:
1. Recco 24, 2. Barceloneta 19, 3. Brescia 17, 4. Ferencvaros 13, 5. Eger 12, 6. Dynamo 3, 7. Steaua 3, 8. Zvezda 0

Group B
HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO) v Szolnoki Dozsa (HUN) 8-11, Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v Jug Dubrovnik (CRO) 10-10, Jadran Split (CRO) v BPM Sport Management (ITA) 12-9, Waspo Hannover 98 (GER) v Spandau 04 (GER) 11-7

Standings:
1. Jug 22, 2. Busto BPM 16, 3. Olympiacos 12, 4. Szolnok 12, 4. Mladost 8, 6. Spandau 7, 7. Jadran 6, 8. Hannover 6

Recco added its 8th win in as many rounds, though this time the Italians had a tougher test against Dynamo than two weeks ago but their win was never in danger. On the contrary, Barceloneta came up with a much more convincing performance in Bucharest compared to their struggles at home on Day 7. The Spaniards led by eight goals in the fourth period before Steaua could net four connecting goals as a consolation.

Brescia could keep up with Barceloneta after earning a surprisingly overwhelming victory against Ferencvaros. The Magyars had a big comeback at home in the last 45 seconds but this time the Italian defence, headed by Marco del Luongo who produced brilliant saves, killed the fearful offensive line of the Super Cup winners (though they lacked their No 1 attacker Denes Varga). Brescia now enjoys a 4-point lead ahead of its rival and Ferencvaros might need to settle for a showdown for the fourth spot with fellow Hungarian side Eger which downed Zvezda with ease.

In Group B, Szolnok copied its 11-8 win from two weeks ago, this time in Zagreb which is quite a feat as the 2017 champions were the first team to beat Mladost in its pool this season. The big moment of the game came late in the second period when Viktor Nagy stopped a penalty preventing the Croats from coming back to 6-7, what’s more, Gergo Zalanki scored from the ensuing counter with 0:04 left for a 5-8 lead. The Hungarians maintained this gap till the end of the game and stayed very much involved in the hunt for the F8 berths.

Having played on Tuesday, they should watch the other games with a smile on their face as their closest rivals all had nightmares on Wednesday. Olympiacos seemed to sit comfortably in the driving seat by leading 7-4 at halftime against group-leader Jug. Then came a complete blackout for the Greeks, Jug had an outstanding spell and a 0-5 rush before two penalty goals ended the 13:48 minute-long drought of the hosts. Still, Jug took the lead once more but Konstantinos Genidounias saved at least one point for Olympiacos by scoring his 5th goal with 19 seconds to go. This draw put the Greeks on level with Szolnok and that promises some huge excitements since only the top three sides qualify from here (Hannover, which earned its first win in the League defeating Spandau, has a guaranteed spot as the host of the F8).

Had BPM overcome Jadran once again, the Italians would have enjoyed a seven-point advantage ahead of the two champions of the last two seasons – instead they crashed in Split. Two weeks ago the Croats almost stunned them in Busto, now at home it was their night and they managed to earn a great win in an extremely tense game with a handful of red cards. This loss might cost a lot for BPM in the chase for the F8 berths since their last two games are due in Szolnok then in Piraeus.

This round offered some brilliant entertainment for the fans with 162 goals in the eight games, lifting the average beyond 20 goals (20.25) per game, quite a rarity in the present-day water polo where usually the emphasis is put on defending.

For stats and play-by-play action visit www.len.eu or download the Champions League App!
For reliving the thrills of the games, use the LEN Champions League Virtual Lounge app.

6 February 2019

O Portal Francisswim.com.br promove diversas ações e projetos visando inclusão social e responsabilidade ambiental que são compartilhadas em nossas plataformas de redes sociais.
Social Responsability
The Francisswim.com.br Portal promotes diverse actions and projects aiming at social inclusion and environmental responsibility that are shared in our platforms of social networks.

Saiba mais sobre a Casa de Apoio Madre Ana
A Casa de Apoio Madre Ana proporciona um acolhimento digno a pacientes pediátricos e adultos portadores de câncer, transplantados, com problemas cardíacos, dentre outros, juntamente com seus acompanhantes vindos do interior do Estado e de outros estados brasileiros. São pessoas de baixa renda que necessitam de um suporte integral durante o período do seu tratamento na Santa Casa.
Os hóspedes recebem moradia, alimentação, material de higiene e conforto espiritual sem nenhum custo. Tudo com um único objetivo: aumentar as chances de cura dos nossos pacientes assistidos.
O leitor do site Francisswim.com.br que quer contribuir pode clicar na logomarca da Casa de Apoio Madre Ana e adicionar uma doação. Além disso, também é possível ser doador mensal para tanto, basta acessar o link: https://goo.gl/cK5wHb

Saiba mais sobre o Banco de Alimentos
O Banco de Alimentos atua como um gerenciador de desperdícios administrando três operações: coleta de doações, armazenamento, e distribuição qualificada de alimentos para entidades beneficentes, tais como creches, asilos, lares de excepcionais, entre outras ongs. A Rede de Bancos de Alimentos do Rio Grande do Sul possui 23 Bancos de Alimentos associados no Estado, os quais doam mais de 500 toneladas de alimentos para 900 instituições, todos os meses. Além da doação de alimentos, desenvolve projetos de nutrição em parceria com as principais universidades Gaúchas, levando mais Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional para as pessoas atendidas nas entidades beneficentes. Participe dessa luta contra a fome e a miséria, entre em contato com o Banco de Alimentos! Telefone: 51-3026.8020 – E-mail: bancodealimentos@bancodealimentosRS.org.br.
Site para maiores informações: https://www.redebancodealimentos.org.br/Inicial