Two former European giants became the first clubs to book their places in the eighth-finals of the 2026 Euro Cup. Jug Dubrovnik and RN Savona maintained their perfect records through four rounds, sealing qualification with decisive victories on Wednesday evening.
Jug claimed a crucial away win against Terrassa in Spain, edging a back-and-forth battle 15:12 in Group A. In Group D, Savona overpowered Spandau 04 for the second time this season, this time with a commanding 17:11 home victory. Both sides now stand on 12 points from four games and are mathematically through to the knockout stage.
Elsewhere, the night delivered drama, penalties, shootouts, and crucial turning points across all four groups.
GROUP A
Terrassa – Jug 12:15 (3:3, 3:2, 4:5, 2:5)
Terrassa: Blasco Sabadell, Alarcón 2, Bargalló 2, Teclas 1, Salvador 1, Chico 1
Jug: Joković 4, Žuvela 4, Kulaš 1, Đerković 1, Mozara 1, Pavlić 1, Sušić 1, Kržić 1, Herceg 1
Jug’s victory in Spain was earned the hard way. Terrassa twice held a two-goal lead (6:4, 8:6), and the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 10:10 after Álvaro Alarcón equalised eight seconds before the break.
The final period was a tense exchange — 11:11, 12:12 — before Jug’s experience showed. The Croatians buried three unanswered goals in the last two and a half minutes to secure qualification with a round to spare.
ASC Duisburg – Solaris 14:13 (4:6, 2:2, 3:0, 5:5)
ASC Duisburg: Šimić 4, E. Metten 4, L. Metten 2, Seifert 2, Halb 1, Gemalmazoğlu 1
Solaris: Bajić 3, Vlahović 3, Koprcina 2, Brajković 1, Mijić 1, Bulat 1
ASC Duisburg earned its first win of the Euro Cup season in a comeback thriller. Solaris opened with a 3:0 run and led 8:6 at halftime, but Duisburg turned the match around with a devastating 6:0 spell between the 19th and 27th minute, jumping to a 12:8 lead.
Solaris fought back to 13:12 but ran out of time, scoring their final goal with just 12 seconds remaining.
Standings: 1. Jug 12, 2. Terrassa 6, 3. Solaris 3, 4. ASC Duisburg 3
GROUP B
Barcelona – Trieste 19:12 (6:5, 5:3, 4:2, 4:2)
Barcelona: Gomà 4, Daura 4, Paul 3, Prat 2, Andrade 2, Velkov 2, Watanabe 1, Ramon 1
Trieste: Drašković 4, Faraglia 3, Podgornik 1, Manzi 1, Razzi 1, Szabó 1, Čagalj 1, Marziali 1
Barcelona followed up last week’s triumph over Szolnok with another impressive win, this time against Trieste. The Italians started brilliantly and led 5:2, but Barcelona struck back with three late goals in the first quarter and never looked back.
Key runs of 3:0 late in Q2 and early in Q3 broke the contest open as Barcelona extended its lead to 12:8 and controlled the match from there.
Szolnok – Dinamo Bucharest 16:9 (3:3, 5:1, 5:1, 3:4)
Szolnok: Cseh 4, Simon 3, Schmolcz 2, Zeman 2, Bedő 2, Kakstedt 1, Kovács 1
Dinamo: Radu 4, Prioteasa 2, Lutescu 2, Mekshi 1
Dinamo, led by veteran Cosmin Radu, shocked Szolnok early with a 3:1 lead. But the Hungarians responded with a ruthless 6:0 run to take control of the match. From 1:3 down to 7:3 up, Szolnok never relinquished control and finished with a comfortable seven-goal win.
Standings: 1. Barcelona 9, 2. Szolnok 9, 3. Trieste 6, 4. Dinamo 0
GROUP C
BVSC – Vouliagmeni 23:22 (PSO) (3:3, 3:3, 4:5, 3:2, PSO 10:9)
BVSC: Ekler 4, Csapó 3, Shushiashvili 2, D. Jansik 2, E. Csacsovszky 1, P. Kovács 1
Vouliagmeni: Troulos 3, Kastrinakis 3, Angelopoulos 2, Tottis 2, Te Riele 2, Spachits 1
The BVSC–Vouliagmeni rivalry has delivered again — another shootout, more drama, and another marathon of penalties.
Vouliagmeni dominated large portions of the match and led 10:7 and later 12:10, but BVSC produced a late 3:0 surge to seize the lead for just the third time all evening. Kastrinakis forced penalties (13:13), and the shootout went all the way to the 11th round, where goalkeeper Viktor Gyapas made the decisive save.
Buducnost – Panathinaikos 9:14 (1:3, 1:6, 2:2, 5:3)
Buducnost: D. Brguljan 4, Brnović 3, Petrović 1, Bošković 1
Panathinaikos: Chalyvopoulos 4, Kopelaidis 4, Kourovanis 2, Papasifakis 2, G. Nikolaidis 1, Papanikolaou 1
Panathinaikos stormed to an 8:1 lead in the first half with a dominant spell of six consecutive goals. Buducnost improved in the final quarter to limit the damage but never threatened the result.
Standings: 1. BVSC 9, 2. Vouliagmeni 8, 3. Panathinaikos 7, 4. Buducnost 0
GROUP D
Savona – Spandau 04 17:11 (5:2, 4:2, 3:1, 5:6)
Savona: Leinweber 4, Rocchi 3, Figlioli 3, Damonte 2, Occhione 2, Guidi 2, Bruni 1
Spandau: Nagy 4, Kojic 2, Chiru 2, Andruszkiewicz 1, Sekulic 1, Čulina 1
Savona left nothing to chance this time. After narrowly beating Spandau in Round 1, the Italians dominated from the first whistle, leading 5:1 after five minutes and 9:4 at halftime. A pair of early second-half goals pushed the margin to 11:4, leaving the visitors with too much to do.
With four wins from four, Savona is deservedly into the Top 16.
Steaua – Sabac 7:8 (3:3, 2:1, 1:3, 1:1)
Steaua: Georgescu 3, Iudean 2, Neamțu 1
Sabac: Barać 2, Stojanović 2, Stanojević 2, Repanović 1, Mačić 1
The lowest-scoring match of the Euro Cup season so far — just 15 goals — was a defensive battle from start to finish. Steaua led 6:4 early in the third quarter, but Sabac responded with a decisive 3:0 burst to go ahead 7:6.
Georgescu equalised for 7:7, but Stanojević struck back immediately for what became the game-winner. In the closing minutes, Steaua squandered a final man-up as goalkeeper Djurović secured another crucial save.
Steaua exits the competition despite four competitive performances decided by the smallest of margins.
Standings: 1. Savona 12, 2. Sabac 9, 3. Spandau 3, 4. Steaua 0
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