Thrillers, Shootouts and Comebacks: Euro Cup Round 3 Delivers a Wild Night Across Europe

The third evening of the 2026 Euro Cup Group Stage delivered everything fans could hope for — drama, comebacks, shootouts, and razor-thin margins. Eight matches were played, four decided by a single goal, and one settled only after a marathon penalty shootout.

The night’s headline belonged to the Greek derby, where Vouliagmeni edged Panathinaikos 17:16 after penalties in Group C. In Croatia, Jug claimed the derby against Solaris, while Italy’s Savona and Trieste both survived tense finishes against Romanian rivals. Barcelona also mounted a major comeback in Szolnok in one of the pivotal clashes of Group B.

Below is a full breakdown of Round 3.

2026 Euro Cup — Group Stage, Round 3

GROUP A

Jug – Solaris 12:10

(4:1, 3:2, 3:5, 2:2)
Jug scorers: Pavlic 4, Susic 3, Jerkovic 2, Mozara 1, Krzic 1, Zuvela 1
Solaris scorers: Brajkovic 3, Vlahovic 2, Bajic 1, Cubranic 1, Pelicaric 1, Mijic 1, Fajkovic 1

Terrassa – ASC Duisburg 14:13

(3:1, 5:1, 2:6, 4:5)
Terrassa: Sabadell 3, Ten Broek 3, Bargallo 3, Bruce Scott 2, Alarcon 1, Blasco 1
ASC Duisburg: Seifert 7, Metten 4, Gergelyfi 1, Gemalmazoglu 1

Match Summary

Jug’s derby win was shaped by a huge early run. After Solaris opened the scoring in the 4th minute, Jug responded with five unanswered goals to seize control. Despite a spirited comeback — including a four-goal surge that brought Solaris level at 7:7 — Jug restored control with a 3:0 burst in just 81 seconds. Solaris pushed late, but Maro Susić’s extra-player finish secured the home side’s third win.

Terrassa appeared to be cruising at 8:2, but ASC Duisburg — driven by a dominant seven-goal performance from Sasha Seifert — stormed back to level the match three times in the fourth period. Each time, Terrassa immediately replied, and Sabadell’s late goal proved decisive.

Standings: 1. Jug 9, 2. Terrassa 6, 3. Solaris 3, 4. ASC Duisburg 0.

GROUP B

Szolnok – Barcelona 10:14

(2:0, 2:4, 1:6, 5:4)
Szolnok: Cseh 3, Kovacs 2, Krasznai 2, Zernivary 1, Vamosi 1, Bedo 1
Barcelona: Daura 4, Ramon 3, Paul 2, Van der Weijden 2, Watanabe 1, Goma 1, Velkov 1

Trieste – Dinamo Bucharest 17:16

(4:4, 5:2, 3:7, 5:3)
Trieste: Draskovic 4, Cagalj 4, Podgornik 3, Marziali 3, Manzi 2, Mezzarobba 1
Dinamo: Prioteasa 6, Lutescu 4, Chikovani 2, Radu 1, Negus 1, Vranceanu 1, Dragomir 1

Match Summary

Group B has now become a genuine three-team race. All of Trieste, Barcelona, and Szolnok sit level on six points after another night of twists.

Szolnok raced to a 3:0 lead, but Barcelona flipped the game with a devastating 10:2 run, controlling the second half and holding off late Hungarian pressure.

In Trieste, the hosts and Dinamo produced one of the most entertaining matches of the round. Dinamo shocked the Italians early and later regained the lead midway through the third quarter. Trieste answered with four straight goals to open the final period, and although Dinamo came within one late, the home side held on.

Standings: 1. Trieste 6, 2. Barcelona 6, 3. Szolnok 6, 4. Dinamo 0.

GROUP C

Panathinaikos – Vouliagmeni 16:17 (PSO)

(5:6, 2:2, 2:1, 1:1, PSO 6:7)
Panathinaikos: Gkiouvetsis 4, Chalyvopoulos 1, Papanikolaou 1, Chatzigoulas 1, Papasifakis 1, Kopelaidis 1, Banicevic 1
Vouliagmeni: Chatzis 4, Te Riele 2, Angelopoulos 1, Kastrinakis 1, Spachits 1, Giannatos 1

Buducnost – BVSC 8:18

(3:4, 2:6, 3:5, 0:3)
Buducnost: Stevovic 3, Brguljan 2, Petrovic 2, Radulovic 1
BVSC: Shushiashvil 5, Ekler 3, Tatrai 2, Csacsovszky 2, Csapo 1, Szeghalmi 1, Kovacs 1, Bundschuh 1, Divjak 1, Simon 1

Match Summary

Vouliagmeni are becoming Euro Cup shootout specialists. After winning another tie on penalties earlier in the Group Stage, they again prevailed — this time in a tense and emotionally charged Greek derby.

With the score tied from 1-1 all the way to 10-10, neither team ever held more than a one-goal margin. The match slowed in the second half, defences tightened, and neither side scored in the final six minutes of regulation. In the seventh round of the shootout, goalkeeper Andreadis produced the decisive save before Troulos converted the winner.

BVSC, meanwhile, were in complete control in Podgorica. After Buducnost’s early 2:0 burst, the Hungarians responded with four goals in just over three minutes and never looked back.

Standings: 1. Vouliagmeni 7, 2. BVSC 7, 3. Panathinaikos 4, 4. Buducnost 0.

GROUP D

Steaua – Savona 10:11

(3:4, 1:4, 4:1, 2:2)
Steaua: Vucinic 2, Antipa 2, Iudean 2, Georgescu 1, Piriianu 1, Tepelus 1, Jaukovic 1
Savona: Leinweber 4, Figlioli 3, Brui 2, Damonte 1, Occhione 1

Sabac – Spandau 04 11:8

(3:2, 4:1, 1:1, 3:4)
Sabac: Gavrilovic 3, Macic 3, Barac 2, Novakovic 1, Moracanin 1, Stojanovic 1
Spandau: Nagy 3, Hofmann 2, Culina 2, Chiru 1

Match Summary

Savona kept their perfect record alive after a dramatic battle in Bucharest. Steaua led 3:2 late in the second quarter but conceded five straight goals as Savona surged to 7:3. The Romanians fought back admirably — twice equalising in the fourth period — but young Hungarian standout Oliver Leinweber struck with 90 seconds to play to seal the points for the Italians.

In Serbia, Sabac overturned an early 0:2 deficit by shutting down Spandau for almost ten minutes, producing a decisive 6:0 run. By halftime they were 7:3 up, and while Spandau reduced the gap late on, the hosts were never seriously endangered.

Standings: 1. Savona 9, 2. Sabac 6, 3. Spandau 3, 4. Steaua 0.

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