Day 14, Group B – Novi Beograd (SRB) v Spandau 04 (GER) 13-8
Novi Beograd really took some home field advantage: the organisers managed to finish the construction of the F8 site for this round so the team could test the outdoor venue at the last game of the prelims.
Alvaro Granados continued where he had finished the Serbian championship finals – he had scored an incredible 10 goals to Zvezda in the game which secured NBG’s title defence at home. The Spaniard opened the scoring with 6:37 on the clock and exactly four minutes later the hosts were 6-2 up already and led 7-3 after eight minutes.
After this flurry of goals, the game ‘calmed down’ – especially the hosts’ offensive machine. They scored six from action in eight minutes, only to add a single one in the next quarter while missing five man-ups. The Serbs’ struggles continued a bit in the third as Spandau came back to 9-7, however, Dmitrii Kholod missed his second penalty though he could have reduced the gap to a single goal. Instead, NBG claimed a penalty from the very next possession and Granados sent the ball home to make it 10-7, instead of 9-8. And the demonstration went on as the hosts forced two more penalties inside the last minute and buried both to lead 12-7 before the final period. That brought one more goal apiece to secure a calm finish for this encounter.
It was a kind of homework for the F8 hosts – had Jug created a miracle in Brescia, NBG could have finished first, but the Croats were far from an upset (something even the Serbs expected). So, they will face either Olympiacos or (less probably) Recco, any of the two possible pairings shall be the highlight of the quarter-final day for sure.
How they saw it
Zivko Gocic, coach, Novi Beograd
“Congratulations to my players they really did well in this match. Of course, there were ups and downs but that is normal and when it really mattered, they did the job. It’s three more points and it was our last game before the Final Eight, now we use the following days to be ready for the big time next week.”
Athanasios Kechagias, coach, Spandau
“It was a good game with good pace. Our start was bad, but we could come back a bit. This was the last game in the season for us, and it was a good season for us.”
Day 14, Group B – Novi Beograd (SRB) v Spandau 04 (GER) 13-8
Novi Beograd really took some home field advantage: the organisers managed to finish the construction of the F8 site for this round so the team could test the outdoor venue at the last game of the prelims.
Alvaro Granados continued where he had finished the Serbian championship finals – he had scored an incredible 10 goals to Zvezda in the game which secured NBG’s title defence at home. The Spaniard opened the scoring with 6:37 on the clock and exactly four minutes later the hosts were 6-2 up already and led 7-3 after eight minutes.
After this flurry of goals, the game ‘calmed down’ – especially the hosts’ offensive machine. They scored six from action in eight minutes, only to add a single one in the next quarter while missing five man-ups. The Serbs’ struggles continued a bit in the third as Spandau came back to 9-7, however, Dmitrii Kholod missed his second penalty though he could have reduced the gap to a single goal. Instead, NBG claimed a penalty from the very next possession and Granados sent the ball home to make it 10-7, instead of 9-8. And the demonstration went on as the hosts forced two more penalties inside the last minute and buried both to lead 12-7 before the final period. That brought one more goal apiece to secure a calm finish for this encounter.
It was a kind of homework for the F8 hosts – had Jug created a miracle in Brescia, NBG could have finished first, but the Croats were far from an upset (something even the Serbs expected). So, they will face either Olympiacos or (less probably) Recco, any of the two possible pairings shall be the highlight of the quarter-final day for sure.
How they saw it
Zivko Gocic, coach, Novi Beograd
“Congratulations to my players they really did well in this match. Of course, there were ups and downs but that is normal and when it really mattered, they did the job. It’s three more points and it was our last game before the Final Eight, now we use the following days to be ready for the big time next week.”
Athanasios Kechagias, coach, Spandau
“It was a good game with good pace. Our start was bad, but we could come back a bit. This was the last game in the season for us, and it was a good season for us.”
