EUROCUP | Echeyde debuts with a win and 'Cata' suffers a double defeat
Ups and downs for Spanish teams this Friday in the second day of the LEN Eurocup preliminary phase. On one hand, CN Tenerife Echeyde made their debut with a victory against the Italian Rapallo in a dramatic finish; on the other hand, EPlus CN Catalunya, which had won the day before, lost both matches against ZV de Zaan (10-13) and Hapoel (8-11) jeopardizing their advancement to the next round.
Starting with the team from the Canary Islands, a dream debut in the competition for the team led by Enrique Cruz. An extremely close match that was tied 4-4 at halftime and 6-6 going into the last eight minutes of play. In the final quarter, the Italian team went up 9-7 with only 2:57 left. However, Echeyde staged an epic comeback with a late goal by Elena Borg with 44" remaining and secured three crucial points.
As for EPlus CN Catalunya, in the morning they faced the Dutch team ZV de Zaan. A tough opponent with a couple of Dutch internationals. The tulip team went up 8-6, but the Spanish team managed to narrow the gap to one (8-9) going into the final quarter. A 0-3 run sealed the win for ZV de Zaan. The final score was 10-13.
In the afternoon, they faced the Israeli team Hapoel - Fatigue kicked in for the Canary Islands team, trailing 4-6 at halftime. The Israelis, with former Sant Andreu player Bogachenko as their star, went up by three with eight minutes left (6-9). Too much to mount a comeback. The final score was 8-11.
RFEN Communication. Photo: Image of Tenerife Echeyde's victory / European Aquatics
