In a clash for moving up in ranking, the Croatian team successfully defended their home court against La Rioja in the last seconds and secured their third win in the competition. The Spanish side took the lead mid-way in the second half; however, in last ten minutes, Nexe played better in offence and leveled the result. In a nail-biting finish, Halil Jaganjac secured an important home win.

Group C

RK Nexe (CRO) vs BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP) 31:30 (14:15)

• La Rioja travelled without Leonardo Dutra Ferreira who has netted 43 goals so far
• after a level start, La Rioja took over and was in the lead until the break when Nexe made a three-goal run for a 14:15 lead
• Augustin Marcelo Casado once again was the main player for the Spanish club, especially in the second half
• La Rioja played well in defence, helping Aliaksandr Markelau make nine saves, most of them in the second half
• crucial for Nexe’s turnaround in the last ten minutes of the match was Predrag Vejin, his eight goals made scoring look easy

Backcourt magic

Both teams have powerful backcourt players but three names stand out. For Nexe Halil Jaganajc and Predrag Vejin were crucial. The first one was buoyant from left back, bringing victory and also scoring nine times. Vejin used his smart plays to make him key player on the court, topping it off with eight goals. On the other side, once again, Augustin Casado Marcelo had his night. After scoring ten against Magdeburg, he continued producing big numbers. From his centre back position he was precise nine times in Nasice and added six assists with it.