Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary still lead after round 3 in Europe

Lausanne (SUI), POLO AIR INDONESIA-January 30, 2013 – Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary maintain the lead of their respective group – A, B and C – after the third round of the European tournament of the 2013 FINA Men’s Water Polo World League, held from January 29-30 in various European cities.

In Group A, reigning Olympic and World League champion Croatia beat Greece in Athens 9-7 on January 30. The same day, Montenegro defeated Turkey in a grueling 14-4 in Istanbul.

In Stuttgart, the only game for Group B, 2012 World League second-place finisher Spain faced pressure from Germany, collecting their first win with a score of 13-12 after penalty shootouts. The Serbian team, which is also in this group, will have their next game in round 4 against Germany.

In Group C, Olympic silver medallist and 2011 World champion Italy crushed Romania 11-5 in Civitavecchia on January 29. A day later in Volograd, Hungary played a solid game against Russia, defeating the locals 10-7. 

The six-round European tournament will continue running in February and March. The Asia/Oceania tournament kicks off May 9th in Auckland (NZL) and the Americas tournament is scheduled to start on May 24 in the United States (city to be announced).

The Men’s Super Final will take place from June 11-16, 2013 (city to be announced). 

Provisional rankings:
GROUP A: 1. MNE, 9 pts (3 wins); 2. CRO, 6 (2W, 1 loss); 3. GRE, 3 (1W, 2L); 4. TUR, 0 (3L)
GROUP B: 1. SRB, 6 pts (2W); 2. ESP, 2 (1W, 1L); 3. GER, 1 (2L)
GROUP C: 1. HUN, 9 pts (3W); 2. ITA, 6 (2W, 1L); 3. ROU, 2 (1W, 2L); 4. RUS, 1 (3L)

Next round (4) on February 2, 2013:
Group A: TUR-GRE in Istanbul and MNE-CRO in Kotor
Group B: SRB-GER in Novi Sad
Group C: ITA-RUS in Volograd and on February 1, HUN-ROU in Debrecen