EVK Zaibas (Lithuania), Sliema ASC (Malta), and two Dutch clubs—GZC Donk and ZV de Zaan—have secured places in the semifinals of the Men’s Challenger Cup after a gripping round of quarterfinal matches.

Zaibas had to endure a nerve-wracking second leg against Slovak side KVP Novaky. After an eight-goal victory (16:8) in the first leg, the Lithuanians seemed poised for a routine progression. However, Novaky had other plans, leading by four goals (10:6) going into the final quarter and pushing to overturn the aggregate deficit. They came agonizingly close, reaching a 14:7 lead with just over a minute to play—one goal shy of tying the series on aggregate. Yet, Marko Jelaca’s buzzer-beater for Zaibas sealed the deal, sending the Lithuanian squad through despite a 14:8 loss on the night.

Meanwhile, the Dutch and Maltese clubs faced no such drama. GZC Donk, ZV de Zaan, and Sliema ASC dominated both legs of their respective matchups, cruising into the final four with commanding performances.

Challenger Cup 2024/25 – Men’s Quarterfinals, 2nd leg results:

• Clube Fluvial Portuense (POR) 13 – 18 GZC Donk (NED) (3:6, 3:6, 1:2, 6:4) | Aggregate: 25–38
• KVP Novaky (SVK) 14 – 8 EVK Zaibas (LTU) (3:3, 3:1, 4:2, 4:2) | Aggregate: 22–24
• Sliema (MLT) 13 – 2 Ljubljana Slovan (SVN) (2:0, 5:1, 2:1, 4:0) | Aggregate: 28–10
• ZV de Zaan (NED) 13 – 4 Vitoria SC (POR) (5:2, 4:1, 3:1, 1:0) | Aggregate: 36–15