Russell McKinnon, FINA Press Commission Member
Edmonton (April 8) — Montenegro swam away with the Olympic Games Qualification
Tournament for men in Edmonton, beating Spain 12-9 in
the final. It was the manner in which Montenegro won the match that
belied the fact the last two days were dead rubbers. Spain also played to the higher
level and stayed in touch at the first two breaks but could not contain the
bigger and rocket-shooting opposition. Montenegro only led by a goal at
the first two breaks but managed to gain a three-goal margin heading into the
final quarter. Montenegro
shared around the goal-scoring befitting a team of high achievers and excellent
shooters. Alexander IVOVIC and Mladan JANOVIC both top-scored their team with
17 goals for the tournament.
Felipe PERRONE scored three goals in the final and finished
with 18 goals in second-equal position with Greece’s Ioannis FOUNTOULIS, who
missed the third-placed play-off with an injured right foot.
Greece
finished third, as expected, fending off a determined Romania 14-10.
Captain Cosmin RADU led his team from the front with five goals to finish as
the tournament’s highest scorer with 21 goals. Greece made the four-goal break in
the second quarter and, despite a Romanian comeback to 11-9 at the start of the
fourth, soon re-established supremacy.
Canada
scored an exciting 11-10 victory over the Former
Yugoslavian Republic
of Macedonia,
having led 4-0 in the first quarter and then squandering the lead in the dying
minutes. It was left to “King” Con KUDABA to fire in two unexpected goals in
the last 65 seconds to rob the Macedonians of what became the first-reserve
position for the Olympics with fifth place.
Turkey
claimed seventh place with a 16-12 victory over Brazil, with captain Oytun OKMAN
scoring three goals to lift his tally to 12 for the tournament.
Match Reports:
Game 39: 13:00, Classification 7-8, TURKEY 16 BRAZIL 12
Quarters: 5-2, 3-4, 3-2, 5-4
Referees: Nikolaos VASILEIOU (GRE), Risto DAMCEVSKI (MKD)
Extra Man: TUR: 3/8. BRA: 5/15
Teams:
TURKEY: Atilla SEZER, Ali Can YILMAZ, Berk BIYIK (3), Oytun OKMAN © (3), Berk
GUNCUT (1), Emre COSKUN (2), Osman GULENG, Ali Can GAGATAY (1), Nadir SUNMEZ
(1), Anil SUNMEZ, Halil BESKARDESLER (2), Can GUVEN (3), Ali Ozcan KILIG. Head
Coach: Halil AVCIOGLU.
BRAZIL: Vinicius ANTONELLI, Bernardo GOMES, Henrique MIRANDA (1), Gustavo
COUTINHO (2), Marcelo FRANCO (1), Gabriel ROCHA (3), Jonas CRIVELLA (1), Felipe
SILVA (1), Bernardo ROCHA (1), Ruda FRANCO (1), Gustavo GUIMARAES (1), Danilo
CORREA, Marcelo CHAGAS. Head Coach: Goran SABLIC.
It was the second time these two teams met in the tournament
with it being an 11-11 result in the rounds. Today, Turkey
seemed to be the team that arrived for action, slowly building to a 7-3 lead
before Brazil
recovered to score three of the next four goals. Gabriel ROCHA (BRA) had three
to lift his tally for the tournament to 13. Turkey shifted to an 11-6 lead but
MIRANDA and Marcelo FRANCO brought it back to 11-8 by the final break. Turkey slipped
out to 13-9 but CRIVELLA and GUIMARAES closed the game to 13-11 at 5:25. COSKUN
scored from centre forward but Bernardo ROCHA brought the game to two again at
4:00. GUVEN pushed in a rebound and OKMAN scored his third on a huge counter to
close the scoring at 2:59. He finished with 12 goals for the tournament, the
same as team-mate GAGATAY. Turkey
deserved seventh place.
FLASH QUOTES:
Oytun OKMAN (TUR) — Captain — Three goals
On the seventh-place finish: “The result that we get is the result that we
expected in the beginning… seventh place in this kind of tournament is good and
it shows that we are improving our sport.”
Can GUVAN (TUR) — Three goals
On Turkey’s
performance: “It’s good for us, it’s OK, because we had missing players. We had
some other problems. But, overall it feels good at the end.”
Gustavo COUTINHO (BRA) — Two goals
On hosting the Olympic tournament in Rio
de Janeiro in 2016: “We have to organise
ourselves better. That’s where we have to start. Then, it’s an evolution. You
can’t win the gold medal your first time at the Olympics so we have to take it
step by step.”
On the impact of hosting the next Olympic Games: “It’s more pressure, more
motivation, it’s both of them because you have to represent your country. That
makes you do better, to play better, and practise better for the (Olympic)
championship.”
Game 40: 14:20, Classification 5-6, CANADA
11 FYR of MACEDONIA
10
Quarters: 4-0, 2-3, 2-3, 3-4
Referees: Adrian ALEXANDRESCU (ROU), Jose WERNER (BRA)
Extra Man: CAN: 3/6. MKD: 1/9.
Pens: CAN: 1/1. MKD: 1/1
Teams:
CANADA: Robin RANDALL, Constantin KUDABA (2), Oliver VIKALO (1), Nicolas
CONSTANTIN-BICARI, Justin BOYD (2), Scott ROBINSON, Luka GASIC (2), John CONWAY
(1), Devon DIGGLE (1), Jared McELROY (2), Dusan ALEKSIC. Head Coach: Dragan
JOVANOVIC.
FORMER YUGOSLAVIAN REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA: Milosh MARINKOVIKS, Mateo CUK (1),
Srgjan AKSENTIJEVIC, Petar IVOSEVIC, Ivan BASARA (1), Igor MILANOVIKS, Marko
MARTINIC (2), Dimitar DIMOVSKI (1), Miroslav RANDJIKS (4), Cupic VOJISLAV,
Boris LETICA, Daniel BENIKS © (1), Dalibor PERCHINIKJ. Head Coach: Sasho
POPOVSKI.
Canada’s
KUDABA scored twice in seven matches before the play-off match but he doubled
his score with the two most important goals of the match in the last 65
seconds. In an intriguing match where Canada led 4-1 only to have that
whittled, equalled and then trailing, KUDABA was the man for the moment. When
RANDIJKJ scored his fourth for 10-9 at 1:45, it was only the second lead of the
game for the Macedonians. Then KUDABA stood up and when deep right he sent the
ball into the top right corner of the goal for 120-10. The Macedonians lost the
ball on the next attack and the ball came to KUDABA, who wasted no time with a
shot from nine metres for the winning goal. MKD went on to attack and
AKSENTIJEVIC took the shot to hopefully force the game to extra time but it was
saved by Canadian keeper ALEKSIC, sending the large crowd into raptures. Canada had
secured the first reserve spot for the Olympic Games. Not bad, considering Canada played
without captain Aaron FELTHAM, who was sitting out with an upper-body injury,
and fellow star Kevin GRAHAM, who had been called back to his Hungarian club
team in preparation for semifinals starting on April 10.
FLASH QUOTES:
Constantine KUDABA (CAN) – Scored Canada’s last two goals
On his tying and winning goals: “It’s been a long tournament and I’ve missed a
lot of shots, so it was nice to get two at the end.”
On the progress that Canada
is making in international water polo: “We’re just more excited for the next
tournament. Each game is closer and closer against these teams that used to
beat us pretty handily. It’s going to be an exciting summer regardless of not
going to London.”
Dusan ALEKSIC (CAN) — Goalkeeper
On making the final save to preserve the win for Canada: “It feels awesome, I mean,
it feels great. I don’t get the chance to play these matches very often since
I’m the back-up goalie. It was really exciting for me.”
Sasho POPOVSKI (MKD) — Head coach
On the match: “We managed to come back from 4-0 down and we had the game to
win. Two stupid mistakes with goals from a distance. Both teams played very
well but not 100 percent. It was out eighth game and we were tired and there
was no pressure.”
On the tournament: “Our best game was against Spain, We stuck it well. Spain
had a 4-1 advantage but we missed several chances.”
Igor MILANOVIKS
On why MKD lost: “The first half was very bad. We had a bad attack. The
difference was we let in their outside shooting. The second half we came back
and had a good position but we lost it in the last few minutes. We got back to
10-10 but after that we did nothing and let in that easy goal at the end.”
Game 41: 15:40, Classification 3-4, GREECE 14 ROMANIA
10
Quarters: 4-3, 6-2, 1-2, 3-2
Referees: Nenad PERIS (CRO), Steven ROTSART (USA)
Extra Man: GRE: 6/12. ROU: 3/7
Pen: GRE: 1/1
Teams:
GREECE:
Emmanouil MYLONAKIS, Andreas MIRALIS (3), Konstantinos KOKKINAKIS (2),
Theodoros CHATZITHEODOROU, Argyris THEODOROPOULOS (2), Christos AFROUDAKIS (1),
Evangelos DELAKAS (3), Georgios AFROUDAKIS © (1), Ioannis FOUNTOULIS,
Konstantinos MOURIKIS (1), Matthaios VOULGARAKIS (1), Filippos KARAMPETSOS.
Head Coach: Dragan ANDRIC.
ROMANIA: Dragos STOENESCU, Cosmin RADU © (5), Tiberiu NEGREAN, Nicolae DIACONU,
Andrei IOSEP (1), Andrei BUSILA, Alexandru MATEI GUIMAN (1), Mihnea CHIOVEANU,
Dimitri GOANTA, Ramiro GEORGESCU (1), Alexandru GHIBAN (2), Kalman KADAR, Mihai
DRAGUSIN. Head Coach: Istvan KOVACS.
Greece
played a high-pressure game as it has throughout the tournament, securing third
place, which is a good pointer ahead of the Olympic Games. Romania proved
an opponent equal to the task and stuck close, coming back from 2-0 to 4-3 and
11-9 at the start of the fourth period. This became 12-10 but THEODOROPOULOS
with his second of the quarter and MIRALIS with his third of the match. The big
pressure came from Romanian captain RADU with five goals, one a gift from in
front when he collected a rebound out of the air at two metres, baulked and
scored for what was his fifth, one of only three goals in the third period. It
was a total team effort by the Greeks and a thoroughly deserved victory. Greece went 8-4
ahead in the second quarter and maintained the four-goal margin until the long
break. The spirit of Romania
was also evident but the accent was heavily on RADU to score the goals. Greece
was playing without regular goalkeeper Nico DELIGIANNIS, who was suspended for
one match by FINA for his indiscretions the day before. Also missing from the
water but sitting on the bench with his right ankle strapped was Ioannis
FOUNTOULIS, the leading scorer at the start of the day. He stayed dry
throughout the match.
FLASH QUOTES:
Dragan ANDRIC (GRE) — Head coach
On his team’s performance at the Olympic Qualification Tournament: “Every day
we are better and better. And I’m satisfied with our work here. The most
important thing, of course, was to finish in the top four and earn a visit to London.”
On the value of the experience: “This is the way how you build a team. It’s
very important to live an experience like this and to be stronger after this
tournament. I believe that we are stronger… I know that others in water polo
are starting to recognise our progress and they start to take us seriously.”
Alexandru GHIBAN (ROU) — Two goals
On the match: “We’re not happy because we lost the game but it was difficult to
concentrate because we have already qualified for the Olympic Games. So, we
tried to do our best, but this was the result.”
Cosmin RADU (ROU) — Captain — Five goals
On qualifying for the Olympics: “It’s a unique feeling. That’s the best way to
put it. For us as Romanians, the last time we were there was 16 years ago, so
it’s pretty rough to get there. That’s why I think it’s pretty special.”
On Romania’s chances in London: “First of all, it
depends on the groups… (but) at some level, we’re all the same. So, it depends
on the form we’re in at the right moment.”
Game 42, 17:00, Classification 1-2, MONTENEGRO
12 SPAIN
9
Quarters: 3-2, 2-2, 4-2, 3-3
Referees: Filippo GOMEZ (ITA), Daniel FLAHIVE (AUS)
Extra Man: MNE: 6/11. ESP: 2/10
Pens: MNE: 1/1
Teams:
MONTENEGRO: Zdravko RADIC, Drasko BRGULJAN, Vjekoslav PASKOVIC (3), Antonio
PETROVIC, Filip KLIKOVAC, Aleksandar RADOVIC (2), Mladan JANOVIC (3), Nikola
JANOVIC ©, Aleksandar IVOVIC (1), Boris ZLOKOVIC (1), Vladimir GOJKOVIC (1),
Predrag JOKIC (1), Mikos SCEPANOVIC. Head Coach: Vido LOMPAR.
SPAIN: Inaki AGUILAR, Mario GARCIA, Oscar CARRILLO, Balazs SZIRANYI, Guillermo
MOLINA © (1), Marc MINGUELL, Ivan GALLEGO, Albert ESPANOL (1), Blai MALLARACH
(1), Felipe PERRONE (3), Ivan PEREZ, Javier GARCIA (3), Daniel LOPEZ. Head
Coach: Rafael AGUILAR.
There was never any doubt that Montenegro
would win this tournament and the chances are that the second-ranked European
nation could take home an Olympic medal in London. The way in which Montenegro
played was testament to their abilities and the fine coaching of Vido LOMPAR. Montenegro was
calm, incisive and packed an explosive charge that exploded in the final. Spain was
stunned at times but picked up and battled head to head to the end. While
Saturday’s Montenegro-Greece was probably the game of the tournament, this was
the second best by far. Montenegro
struggled to get away from Spain,
leading by one goal after the first and second quarters. While Montenegro
slipped out to 7-4 up early in the third, PERRONE and MALLARACH brought the
game back to one. However, IVOVIC, Mladan JANOVIC and JOKIC scored the next
three covering the final break for 10-6. Goals were traded and PERRONE scored
the tournament’s final goal just over two minutes from time. Defence finished
the final minutes and a fine tournament came to a close.
FLASH QUOTES:
Nikola JANOVIC (MNE) — Team captain
On the match: “We’re very happy because we played well in this match and
through the whole championship and, of course, because we are going to the
Olympic Games.”
On his expectations for London:
“We can play even better than this… We expect a medal (in London). We are one of the best teams in the
world.”
Boris ZLOKOVIC (MNE) — One goal
On the match: “For us it was important to win and take the gold medal because…
we are from a very small country of only 600,000 people so it’s a very big
success to go to the Olympic Games.”
On his expectations for the Olympics: “We are not going only to see how it is,
we want to go and play good water polo. And I think we have big possibilities
to take one of the medals.”
Felipe PERRONE (ESP) — Three goals
On preparations for London:
“We have to work a lot. The Olympic Games is the most important moment in the
four years to every sport and to every athlete so we will be working a lot…. I
think we need to go step by step.”
LEADING SCORERS:
Cosmin RADU (ROU), 21
Ioannis FOUNTOULIS (GRE), 18
Felipe PERRONE (ESP), 18
Aleksandar IVOVIC (MNE), 17
Mladan JANOVIC (MNE), 17
Christos AFROUDAKIS (GRE), 16
Guillermo MOLINA (ESP), 15
Gabriel ROCHA (BRA), 13
Nicolas CONSTANTIN-BICARI (CAN), 12
Miroslav RANDJIKJ (MKD), 12
Georgios AFROUDAKIS (GRE), 12
Ali Can GAGATAY (TUR), 12
Oytun OKMAN (TUR), 12
(fina)
