23.06.2015, 01:10
National champions of Europe - Men Part 6: South-East

FEATURE: Review of the men's national leagues in Europe. The sixth part of the series takes a closer look at the South-East: Cyprus, Geogia, Greece and Turkey.

National champions of Europe - Men Part 6: South-East

The domestic leagues have come to an end and we now approach the draws of the 2015/16 European season, starting with the VELUX EHF Champions League draw on 26 June.

In six parts, the spotlight is shone on each of the national champions and their path to glory. The last part consists of teams from Cyprus, Georgia, Greece and Turkey.

Cyprus - European University Cyprus

European University Cyprus finished the season unbeaten to win yet another Cypriot championship.

They were able to secure the title against defending Champions SPES/ENOSIS, who finished the season second, a whopping 11 points behind EUC.

After also having won the Super Cup prior to season throw-off, EUC made it a treble for the season, finishing also on top of the domestic cup competition. Thanks to the outstanding performance of their goalkeeper Kostas Christodoulou, who was also voted MVP of the match, EUC stayed unbeaten, defeating SPES/ENOSIS 27:22 in the Cup Final.

EUC now count a total of 5 Championship titles, 4 Cup titles and 2 Super Cups.    

Georgia - Georgia Tech University

The 25th Georgian championship did not hold many surprises as the team from Tbilisi came out on top again, securing their 22nd title.

As expected, the team coached by Irakli Kekeladze took the first place in the regular season. In the Final 4 for the Georgian championship they brushed aside Miti Batumi in the semi-final and went on to beat Samtredia in the final game.

Greece - AC PAOK Thessaloniki

2014/15 was the most successful season in the history of AC PAOK Thessaloniki.

March saw the Northerners lifting the Cup trophy for the second time in their history after beating last two years’ Cup Winners AEK Athens 29:27.

In May, PAOK also defeated defending Champions, AC Diomidis Argous in the second final of the play-offs.

The game that lasted for almost two hours, and has been described by the Greek press as one of the most thrilling and dramatic games in the history of Greek handball, ended 29:29 after normal match-time, after PAOK impressively closed in on a 5-goal gap.

The teams had to settle for a draw also during extra time (35:35 and 40:40) and it was only after the penalty shoot-out that PAOK managed to seal victory (43:40), and celebrate their third Championship title and first double since the club was founded in 1999.

Turkey - Besiktas Mogaz HT

Besiktas Mogaz HT not only won the Turkish championship this season but also the Turkish Cup.

In the play-off final for the national championship the team led by captain Ibrahim Demir had to face Büyüksehir Belediyesi Ankara. 

Beating their opponents in three matches, 30:24, 32:24 and 33:25 the team from Istanbul crowned themselves champions again.

Israel - Hapoel Rishon LeZion

The final for the Israelic championship not only saw two big rivals face ech other but also two teams from the city of Rishon LeZion.

Beating Ramat Hashron in the semi-final and Ness Ziona in the quarter-final, Hapoel Rishon LeZion, cruised to the final where they had to face Maccabi Rishon LeZion.

As in the previous years, the classic between Hapoel and Maccabi promised to be very exciting one. After two wins, one defeat and one draw, the team led by captain Idan Maimon awaited the decision in the fifth and final match. And Hapoel were more than lucky with the result beating their adversaries 33:31.

The team of headcoach Sa’ar Frenkel proved once again to be the most successful team in Israeli handball claiming both the championship as well as the cup title.
 

TEXT: Fulya Oktem, Sergey Nikolaev / me, psa