Montenegro claimed one of the biggest victories of the second day at the Men’s U16 World Championships in Zagreb, defeating Italy 12-10, while Greece revived its quarter-final hopes with a narrow win over defending champion Spain.
Montenegro led 6-5 at half-time before extending its advantage during the third quarter. The gap reached four goals on several occasions in the final period, including at 12-8, before Italy scored twice late on to reduce the final margin.
The victory earned Montenegro 97.4 TPI points and strengthened its position ahead of another major test against Russia. Italy remains in contention but will need strong results against Slovenia and China over the final two preliminary days.
Greece entered its match against Spain needing a response after losing 7-4 to Russia on the opening day. Spain appeared in control after moving 4-1 ahead early in the second quarter, but Greece transformed the contest with a 7-1 run.
That surge gave the Greeks an 8-5 advantage with five minutes remaining. Spain twice reduced the deficit to one, but Greece held on for a crucial 9-8 victory.
Several other matches were decided by narrow margins. Kazakhstan defeated Singapore 16-15 following a penalty shootout, Israel edged Ukraine 11-10 and Poland overcame South Africa 8-6.
New Zealand continued its impressive start by defeating Canada 11-10, while Malta recorded a 15-8 victory over Mexico. Serbia beat the Netherlands 15-12, Croatia defeated Australia 15-7 and the United States secured a 12-8 win against Germany.
After two days, Russia, Brazil, New Zealand, Hungary, Croatia, Egypt, Romania, Montenegro, the United States, Serbia and Malta have each recorded two victories. Malta’s opening success came following a shootout.
Russia currently leads the TPI standings with an average of 97.1 points, followed by Brazil on 95.4 and New Zealand on 92.2. Malta sits fourth on 90.7, narrowly ahead of Hungary and Croatia.
Day 2 results
Kazakhstan 16-15 Singapore (PSO)
Egypt 21-4 Uruguay
Germany 8-12 United States
South Africa 6-8 Poland
Hungary 12-6 Turkiye
Ukraine 10-11 Israel
Brazil 13-7 China
Peru 3-17 Romania
Netherlands 12-15 Serbia
Czech Republic 8-6 Zimbabwe
Italy 10-12 Montenegro
Mexico 8-15 Malta
Canada 10-11 New Zealand
Slovenia 18-1 Puerto Rico
Australia 7-15 Croatia
Russia 23-3 Malaysia
Spain 8-9 Greece
Georgia 7-4 Portugal
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