Crucial step for the championship, Olympiacos defeats NO Vouliagmeni 13-12 and leads 2-0 in wins (pics)

"Combining" their successes and setting sail for the championship, Olympiacos beat NO Vouliagmeni 13-12 in their second game in the playoffs finals of A1 Men's Water Polo, held at the Laimou Swimming Pool on Wednesday 21/5.

The "red and whites", who have home advantage, lead with 2-0 wins and need one more to celebrate this year's title. The third game of the championship finals series will take place on Saturday (24/5) at 19:00 at the Piraeus Swimming Pool. If a fourth game is needed, it will be held on 26/5 at Laimou, and the fifth on 28/5 (19:00) at Piraeus.

The game was attended by the President of the Hellenic Swimming Federation Kyriakos Giannopoulos.

The match had a balanced development with Olympiacos scoring three unanswered goals in two minutes in the second quarter to take a 7-3 lead, laying the foundations for victory, with Gergo Zalanki being the standout player. With Kastrinakis leading the attack, NO Vouliagmeni reduced the gap to 8-6 at halftime and closed in within a breath (8-7 and 9-8) in the third period, with successive goals from the 21-year-old defender.

The home team capitalized on the exclusions they earned at the start of the fourth period and, with Almyra and Ubobich scoring, managed to equalize at 11-11. Foudoulis took advantage of Spakhits' exclusion and once again gave the lead to the "red and whites" (11-12). Alavragkis won a penalty in the counterattack, and Genidounias "sealed" the second win for Olympiacos in the finals series in the last 48 seconds of the game.

NO VOULIAGMENI-OLYMPIACOS 12-13

Quarters: 3-4, 3-4, 3-3, 3-2

View the line-ups, goals, statistics, and detailed match data HERE.

Watch the match progression as broadcast by the Hellenic Swimming Federation's Live Results HERE.

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