There were several close encounters in the opening round of the 2026 Euro Cup — but one derby quickly turned into a one-sided contest.
Trieste and Barcelona faced off in one of the day’s highlights. The two sides were neck-and-neck early on, but Trieste seized control in the second period. The Italians surged to a 13–7 halftime lead and never looked back, finishing 20–16 winners.
Elsewhere, Savona — a three-time Euro Cup champion — mounted an impressive comeback in Berlin, defeating Spandau 04 by a single goal (16–15) after trailing by four in the first quarter.
In Vouliagmeni, fans witnessed one of the most dramatic matches of the round. After an 11–11 draw, the Greeks edged BVSC Budapest 20–19 in a penalty shootout — their third consecutive Euro Cup game to be decided from the five-metre line.
Meanwhile, Szolnok survived a late scare in Bucharest. Although Dinamo fought hard to erase a four-goal deficit, the Hungarians held firm to claim a narrow 16–15 victory.
Jug, Solaris, Panathinaikos, and Šabac also began their campaigns with home wins.
Group A
Jug – Terrassa 16:12 (4–1, 3–4, 5–3, 4–4)
Jug: Susic 4, Pavlic 3, Mozara 2, Buslje 2, Zivela 2, Jokovic 1, Herceg 1, Jerkovic 1.
Terrassa: Bargallo 5, Ten Broek 2, Sabadell 1, Scott 1, Cuacos 1, Vlasco 1, Teclas 1.
Jug dominated early, storming to a 6–2 lead before halftime. Terrassa halved the deficit, but the hosts regrouped after the break, netting four consecutive goals to establish a 12–7 cushion midway through the third period — sealing a comfortable home victory.
Solaris – ASC Duisburg 15:10 (2–3, 5–5, 5–0, 3–2)
Solaris: Zvono 4, Mijic 3, Cubranic 2, Vlahovic 2, Pelicaric 1, Bulat 1, Akrap 1, Bajic 1.
ASC Duisburg: Simic 3, Seifert 3, Halb 1, Dolff 1, Gemalmazoglu 1, Metten 1.
ASC Duisburg surprised Solaris early, leading 5–2 before the Croatians found their rhythm. A decisive 5–0 third quarter turned the game on its head, powering Solaris to a solid opening win.
Group B
Trieste – Barcelona 20:16 (6–5, 7–2, 4–5, 3–4)
Trieste: Mezzarobba 5, Draskovic 5, Manzi 4, Petronio 2, Marziali 2, Podgornik 1, P. Faraglia 1.
Barcelona: Daura 4, Prat 3, Van der Weijden 3, Watanabe 2, Goma 2, Ramon 1, Paul 1.
Trieste exploded out of the blocks, opening up a 3–0 lead before Barcelona managed to level twice in the first quarter. From then on, the Italians dominated, racing to a six-goal halftime advantage (13–7) thanks to a stunning backhand from Vuk Draskovic on the buzzer. Barcelona improved after the break but never threatened the outcome.
Dinamo Bucharest – Szolnok 15:16 (4–7, 4–3, 3–4, 4–2)
Dinamo: Lutescu 5, Prioteasa 4, Chikovani 2, Mekshi 1, Radu 1, Cojocariu 1.
Szolnok: Zernivary 4, Krasznai 2, Kovacs 2, Bedo 2, Simon 1, Schmolcz 1, Vamosi 1, B. Szabo 1, Teleki 1, Zeman 1.
Szolnok jumped to a 4–0 lead and held off repeated Dinamo comebacks. The Romanians came within one goal late on, but Szolnok’s defense stood firm to escape Bucharest with all three points.
Vouliagmeni – BVSC 20:19 (1–3, 2–2, 5–5, 3–1, PSO 9–8)
Vouliagmeni: Te Riele 6, Chatzis 2, Spachits 2, Troulos 1.
BVSC: Batizi 5, Tatrai 3, Shushiashvili 1, Ekler 1, Meszaros 1.
For the third match in a row, Vouliagmeni went the distance. Trailing 4–1 early, the Greeks battled back to force penalties with a late equaliser from Charalampos Troulos. In the shootout, goalkeeper Andreadis made the decisive save against Shushiashvili to clinch a memorable victory.
Panathinaikos – Buducnost 16:8 (4–2, 4–1, 4–4, 4–1)
Panathinaikos: Gkiouvetsis 5, Papasifakis 3, Banicevic 3, Skoumpakis 2, Chalyvopoulos 1, Papanikolaou 1, Chazigoulas 1.
Buducnost: D. Brguljan 4, Boskovic 2, Stevovic 2.
A dominant display from Panathinaikos, who raced to a 3–0 start and never looked back. The Athens side — boosted by key summer signings — proved too strong for Buducnost on the Montenegrins’ European debut.
Group D
Spandau – Savona 15:16 (4–3, 2–2, 4–6, 5–5)
Spandau: Nagy 3, Caraj 3, Hofmann 2, Tkac 2, Kojic 2, Stamm 2, Culina 1.
Savona: Bruni 5, Figlioli 4, Leinweber 3, Occhione 2, Gullotta 1, A. Condemi 1.
Spandau’s fast start (4–0) was quickly undone as Savona rallied to level. The Italians surged ahead in the second half with a 4–0 run led by Figlioli and Bruni. Despite a late Spandau fightback, Figlioli’s fourth goal secured a valuable away win for Savona.
Šabac – Steaua 11:9 (4–3, 2–2, 2–1, 3–3)
Šabac: Stojanovic 4, Macic 3, Barac 2, Gavrilovic 1.
Steaua: Vucinic 3, Georgescu 2, Jaukovic 2, Iudean 1, Fulea 1.
Šabac held their nerve in a tense Serbian-Romanian duel. Led by Ognjen Stojanovic, the hosts built a three-goal cushion midway through the third period. Despite Steaua’s late push, Aljosa Macic’s crucial goal in the final minutes sealed the victory.
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