CHAMPIONS CUP QUARTER-FINAL LINE-UP COMPLETE

The rain might have come on day two of Beach Handball Champions Cup but the conditions did not stop the beach elite from making a splash in Sicily as the make-up of the last eight in both the men and women’s competition was confirmed.

The biggest news on day two of the competition was the elimination of reigning champions Multichem Szentendrei of Hungary, despite winning their final group match. Last year’s winners finished bottom of Group A having lost both matches on Thursday.

That there will be a new name on the women’s trophy and in the race to take the crown, the most comprehensive group winners were Spanish outfit Taberna El Panduro AM Team Almeria, who made it four wins from four matches with a victory over JuRo Unirek/VZV of the Netherlands. JuRo, who had won their previous three matches on Thursday, were already assured of a place in the quarter-finals.

Also in the last eight are Sport Club Senec, the Slovakian side, who topped Group A – despite losing to Szentendrei – and Italians Blue Team, who recorded a 16:3, 13:10 victory over LLOPIS BM Playa Sevilla from Spain much to the delight of the home fans.

Toyota MHC Dubrava remain the only other unbeaten side left in the competition as they topped Group B, earning a third straight win by beating Hungary team LadyBugs in a shootout. German side Strandgeflüster Minden finished second in Group B to also progress.

GRD Leca – Love Tiles (POR) and Odder Håndbold (DEN) complete the quarter-final line-up, progressing as the best third-placed teams.

Women’s quarter-finals

Toyota MHC Dubrava v Odder Håndbold
Taberna El Panduro A M Team Almeria v GRD Leca – Love Tiles
Sport Club Senec v Strandgeflüster Minden
Blue Team v JuRo Unirek / VZV

Roman Kalashnikov's Ekaterinodar are in the quarter-finals after winning all three group games

Favourites cruise through in men's event

The two teams responsible for four of the last five men’s titles Champions Cup history made light work of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Both reigning champions Detono Zagreb of Croatian and Russian club Ekaterinodar came through their groups with 100 per cent records with three wins from three games. Detono enjoyed the biggest win of the tournament so far, crushing British team Chelsea 22:6, 20:5.

However, Detono were not the only Croatian team to make it through to the last eight unbeaten, as Toyota MHC Dubrava recorded their third straight win on Friday, beating BHT Hurricanes of Germany 20:14, 14:10 to top Group C.

The fight for second place in Group C went down to wire in the final games as BHT Hurricanes secured second place, ahead of BHV Wasserschloss (SUI) and HIR-SAT BHC (HUN), with all three teams finishing on two points.

Group D turned out to be just as tight, with the top three teams all finishing on four points. Team Tschatcheur by PAUC of France and BHC Beach & Da Gang Munster of Germany ousted Rodby of Denmark to advance to the last eight.

Men’s quarter-finals

Detono Zagreb v BMP Sevilla
SC Ekaterinodar v Hiekka Hauskaa
MHC Dubrava v BHC Beach & Da Gang Munster
Team Tschatcheur by PAUC v BHT Hurricanes

Stay tuned on Saturday

The Champions Cup finalists will be decided on Saturday, with both the men’s and women’s quarter-finals and semi-finals taking place.

After the morning’s quarter-finals, the two women’s semi-finals will take place at 14:45 hrs CEST and 16:15, while the battle to reach the men’s final will throw off at 15:30 hrs CEST and 17:00.

You can watch all the action unfold live on ehfTV and follow live coverage behind-the-scenes on the EHF Beach Handball Instagram page.

For the full schedule and results, visit the EHF website.

See you @ the beach!