Conference Cup Men: Apollon Smyrnis sink Mataro to book last remaining Final Four ticket

Apollon Smyrnis joined fellow Greek side Panionios, along with Honved and De Akker Team, in the Challenger Cup Men’s Final Four after beating Mataro convincingly in the decisive match on the last day of the Quarterfinal Stage. Honved and De Akker finished top of their respective groups.

2025/26 Conference Cup Men
Quarterfinals, Day 3
Sunday 22 March

Group A

Tenerife Echeyde (ESP) 13-17 CN Posillipo Napoli (ITA)
Panionios GSS (GRE) 12-15 Endo Plus Service Honved (HUN)

Standings: 1. Honved 9pts, 2. Panionios 6pts, 3. Posillipo 3pts, 4. Tenerife 0pts

Group B

VK Mornar Split (CRO) 20-13 De Akker Team (ITA)
Apollon Smyrnis (GRE) 15-10 Solartradex Mataro (ESP)

Standings: 1. De Akker 6pts, 2. Apollon 6pts, 3. Mataro 3pts, 4. Mornar 3pts

Group A

Tenerife Echeyde (ESP) 13-17 CN Posillipo Napoli (ITA)
Panionios GSS (GRE) 12-15 Endo Plus Service Honved (HUN)

Standings: 1. Honved 9pts, 2. Panionios 6pts, 3. Posillipo 3pts, 4. Tenerife 0pts

The top spot was at stake on the last day, and Honved’s blast in the opening period set the tone for the rest of the game as the Hungarians beat hosts Panionios with another fine performance. They raced into a 2-6 lead with three connecting goals in 110 seconds shortly before the first break, forcing the Greeks into a chasing game.

By half-time, the gap remained unchanged as Honved consistently found a way to respond to the hosts’ goals. They were particularly effective on six-on-five, netting three in this quarter alone to hold a 6-10 advantage.

Early in the third, they produced another three-goal surge. Nikola Moskov was on fire once more, scoring his fourth and fifth, and again, in a 110-second span, the Magyars moved 6-13 ahead, leaving little chance for a comeback.

The Greeks did enjoy a better spell late in the third, scoring three in a row, but that only reduced the deficit to the ‘well-known’ four goals, making it 11-15 heading into the final period.

Honved managed the game well from there, focusing on their defence, and the last quarter saw just a single goal from Theodosios Motsias as Honved secured their third win to clinch first place.

In the other match, Posillipo claimed some consolation by beating Tenerife in a 30-goal encounter. The Italians scored from almost every possession in the opening eight minutes, netting nine goals to lead 3-9, and they never looked back.

The Spanish cut the deficit to three goals twice in the third but were unable to get any closer, and an early double in the fourth for 9-16 ensured Posillipo secured third place.

Group B

VK Mornar Split (CRO) 20-13 De Akker Team (ITA)
Apollon Smyrnis (GRE) 15-10 Solartradex Mataro (ESP)

Standings: 1. De Akker 6pts, 2. Apollon 6pts, 3. Mataro 3pts, 4. Mornar 3pts

Nikola Bogdanovic and Hannes Daube stepped up when it mattered most, both scoring six in the decisive match against Mataro to secure Apollon’s Final Four berth.

The Greeks stormed into a 3-0 lead inside three minutes to set the tone, and even though the Spanish side responded to make it 5-3, Apollon looked the more composed team throughout the opening period.

They continued in the same vein in the second period, as Bogdanovic netted from action and then converted a penalty within 50 seconds to stretch the lead to 7-3.

However, Mataro fought back, pulling one goal back before killing two man-downs, and Oier Aguirre fired in from the perimeter to make it 7-5, 18 seconds before the long break.

The third period heated up immediately as Gerard Gil converted on extra, but Daube responded in kind to halt the hosts’ scoreless run after 7:32 minutes.

That proved crucial, as Bogdanovic added another from action 41 seconds later, and from that point on the Spaniards were unable to mount a serious push for an equaliser or even reduce the deficit to a single goal.

They did manage to score twice more to trail by two at 9-7 and 10-8, but Daube struck with two powerful 6m shots within a minute, while Mataro missed a six-on-five chance in between. At 12-8, the momentum was firmly with the Greeks.

Apollon maintained control in the fourth, absorbing the pressure from the Spaniards, and when Daube converted on extra with 3:13 remaining, the contest was effectively over.

The Spanish side could add only one more goal, 51 seconds from time, and had to settle for third place, while Apollon celebrated their place in the Final Four as runners-up, alongside domestic rivals Panionios.

With positions already decided before the final round – De Akker had secured top spot and Mornar were set for fourth – the other match was largely about pride for the Croats after two difficult days.

The Italians, meanwhile, struggled to find their rhythm and gradually faded.

Mornar scored five goals in each period, while the Bologna-based side finished with 13. Notably, it was almost the same number they had scored across their two earlier wins, netting 14 in each, but this time they conceded 20, underlining the drop in their defensive concentration.

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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

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