The same four sides made the semifinals as in 2012: just as in London, the ex-Yugoslavian teams, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro reached the top four, together with Italy. It’s interesting, that both group-winners fell, Montenegro ousted Hungary in a shootout – in fact, that was the only close game – while Serbia easily beat Spain. Croatia didn’t leave too much chance to the host Brazilians and Italy got the upper hand against Greece.
Game 1, 11.00 – Quarterfinals: Hungary v Montenegro 9-9 (1-2, 2-3, 3-3, 3-1) pen: 2-4
Referees: Mark Koganov (AZE), Joe Peila (USA)
HUNGARY: Viktor Nagy, Gergo Zalanki, Krisztian Manhercz 1, Balazs Erdelyi 3, Marton Vamos 3, Norbert Hosnyanszky, Adam Decker, Marton Szivos, Daniel Varga, Denes Varga 2, Gabor Kis, Balazs Harai, Attila Decker (GK). Head coach: Tibor Benedek
MONTENEGRO: Milos Scepanovic, Drasko Brguljan, Vjekoslav Paskovic, Antonio Petrovic, Darko Brguljan, Aleksandar Radovic, Mladan Janovic, Uros Cuckovic, Aleksandar Ivovic, Sasa Misic, Filip Klikovac, Predrag Jokic, Zdravko Radic (GK). Head coach: Vladimir Gojkovic
Extramen
Hungary: 4 for 9
Montenegro: 2 for 8
Penalties
none
Perhaps the Gods overseeing water polo haven’t allowed the Hungarians doing the same in two Olympic quarterfinals in succession: not leading in the entire game but after a goalie change and a comeback they win in the shootout. This is exactly what the women’s team did against Australia yesterday – and this is how the men’s team finished its game in the regular time against Montenegro. The penalties made the difference, by all means. The women won, the men lost.
However, few might say that Hungary deserved something better. Goalkeeping has never been so decisive in this sport as it is in recent years – and in that field the Montenegrin netminder, Milos Scepanovic simply outperformed both Hungarians. After the 2013 World Championships final in Barcelona – when Hungary beat Montenegro – Viktor Nagy was picked for the best goalkeeper award. He was outstanding in the last game as well. This morning he had to be substituted when Hungary was 1-4 down and he couldn’t make a single save in ten minutes. By then, Scepanovic had 7 on 8 attempts. After three periods, the number of saves stood 2-12. The Magyars weren’t as sharp at both ends, let in a couple of easy goals and in the middle of the second period their shooting stat showed 1 for 14...
Montenegro, finishing fourth in the group but could never be regarded an underdog, slowed down the pace of the game as much as they can, after being three goals up. And even if the Hungarians bounced back to 5-6, they could respond immediately, after 6-7 as well, keeping the distance until the end of the third (6-8).
Even after Balazs Erdelyi netted his third in the 17th second of the last period, Aleksandar Ivovic pushed one in from a fine drive for 7-9. Soon Marton Vamos’s blast, his third as well, hit the back of the net as their shots began to be more precise, leaving Scepanovic less chance. And to highlight the change of the trends, Attila Decker came up with a great save in a man-down, than Hungary survived the first ‘match ball’, a Montenegrin 6 on 4 with 5:05 to go. The Magyars missed a man-up, but after the corner-throw and a time-out, Denes Varga, the captain struggling a bit throughout the game, produced one of the most spectacular goals of the tourney, a 10m pinpoint shot, levelling the score at 9-9, with 71 seconds remaining. Another save from Decker even gave the chance for Hungary to complete the comeback but they couldn’t set up any better opportunity, the Montenegrin attack also gone, so the penalties decided the outcome.
And the shootout produced the same scenario: Scepanovic had two saves in the third and fourth round, the Montenegrins had one miss in the third but Paskovic buried the fourth to send his team to the semis. Since 2008, when Montenegro appeared at the Games for the first time, they always made the semis but so far they had to settle for the 4th place on both occasion. Perhaps they will reach something better this time. On the contrary, Hungary, winner of three straight titles in 2000, 2004 and 2008, fails to reach the top four in the second consecutive edition, something happened to them in 1988-1992 for the last time. Even painful for the Magyars, that considering the regular time, they are still the only unbeaten side of the tournament but lost their chance to win a medal.
Vladimir Gojkovic, head coach, Montenegro:
“I think we deserved this win, we were the better team in the entire game, we played really well, for most of the time we led by 2-3 goals. Hungary is a strong team, a great team, they showed it, but our goalkeeper did a better job once again.”
Tibor Benedek, head coach, Hungary:
“I won’t say that the shootout is about pure luck. Your focus has to be there, you must concentrate as semifinals, medals can be decided by converting penalties. We should have used our psychological advantage after coming back to the game but the first save destroyed that. We played really bad in the first period and that’s a pity as now we stand here and see our dreams totally ruined. Still, we have to get up as we will face just as strong teams in the next two matches as we would play for the medals. I was part of Games when we finished 6th and 4th, I will take care of bringing back the players to normal.”
“I don’t care about the strange result on the last day of the prelims, compare our path to others. We played straightforward, we didn’t calculate, we just went ahead – if you want to win a medal, you have to beat whoever comes next. The rest is up to the decision-makers: until 2008, when the top spot in the group directly qualified you to the semis and only the top three advances, everyone did his best, without doing the maths all the time.”
Milos Scepanovic, goalkeeper, Montenegro:
“It's very difficult. I know I had an amazing game tonight but it's my fault the game went further than regulation. I was so pissed so it was very stressful for me when we went to penalty shots. I was really focused on correcting my mistakes and helping my team go to the semifinals.”
“Hungary is one of the most successful teams in the world ever. It's always a pleasure to play against them because it's always going to be a great game. It's a great success for Montenegro and for water polo in our nation to defeat Hungary and to make the semifinals.”
Marton Szivos, player, Hungary:
"I’m proud of my team, we played a tremendous match. We came back, we were there, around their neck, then came the Russian roulette where we lost. We set a high pace from the beginning, took our shots though our precision wasn’t the best in the first half. This changed for the second half, our defence also improved so we could level the score. Still, we lost, but we will back, I’m sure, we will go for the 5th place with heads held high.”
Game 2, 12.20 – Quarterfinals: Serbia v Spain 10-7 (3-1, 4-2, 0-2, 3-2)
Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Radoslaw Koryzna (POL)
SERBIA: Branislav Mitrovic, Dusan Mandic 4, Zivko Gocic, Sava Randelovic, Milos Cuk 1, Dusko Pijetlovic, Slobodan Nikic, Milan Aleksic 1, Nikola Jaksic, Filip Filipovic 2, Andrija Prlainovic, Stefan Mitrovic 2, Gojko Pijetlovic (GK). Head coach: Dejan Savic
SPAIN: Dani Lopez, Alberto Munarriz 2, Marc Roca, Ricard Alarcon, Guillermo Molina 3, Marc Minguell 1, Balazs Sziranyi 1, Albert Espanol, Roger Tahull, Francisco Fernandez, Blai Mallarach, Gonzalo Echenique, Vicente Aguilar (GK). Head coach: Gabriel Hernandez
Extramen
Serbia: 3 for 8
Spain: 4 for 13
Penalties
none
Serbia is back in business. After a miserable run and a last-grasp escape in the prelims, the world champions began to show their real character and didn’t let the Spaniards too much chance to stay in the game. The lethal lefts left their marks right in the first period, Filip Filipovic opened the scoring, then came young Dusan Mandic twice to build a 3-1 lead. Milos Cuk also netted one early in the second for 4-1, then came a fine spell for their rivals when they came back to 4-3 in 63 seconds and soon denied a Serbian man-up. Still, they couldn’t capitalise on that, instead, Mandic’s next blast hit the back of the net, then Branislav Mitrovic had a catch in a Spanish man-up, and the other Mitrovic, Stefan – though no family ties – made it 6-3. The Serbian defence worked well, denied another extra and with 12 seconds before the middle break Milan Aleksic was also on target for 7-3.
Spain pulled two back, however, and had another fine run, especially in the back as they managed to shut out the Serbs for the entire period but couldn’t come any closer as they missed two 6 on 5s still in the third. A little more than a minute gone when the Serbs scored again, Stefan Mitrovic put away a man-up in its last phase and even if a reply came soon, Filipovic was merciless from a 6 on 5 for 9-6. Though six minutes were left, the Spaniards didn’t have the tools to do any serious harm to their rivals. They missed two more extras, when they scored from the third, it was too late (9-7, 1:38 left) – what’s more, they missed another one, and Dusan Mandic’s 4th goal closed down the contest.
Filip Filipovic, player, Serbia:
“Sometimes you have to touch the bottom so you can see how to rise. I think after the Brazil game we literally touched the bottom of the pool, the green pool. I think the changing of the venue was a good change for us. After we lost to Brazil we didn't have many options. We needed to win and win until the end of the Olympics and that's our goal.”
“This was definitely our best performance of this tournament. We didn't allow Spain to score early, which would have forced us to chase the game. I'm very proud of my teammates. We made a promise back in Serbia that we would fight for a medal.”“It's a much better feeling to lead at half-time than watching the other team score goals and realising you have to score three or four goals just to get back in the game. On defence we controlled the game and that is our key to success. I'm very happy and I am very proud.”
Gabriel Hernandez, head coach, Spain
“Serbia was the worst team we could play against in the quarterfinals. They have won everything in the past few years. We knew we would have to play at our very best to beat them but we weren't able to do that. We lost many individual battles and it was a struggle to keep possession of the ball.
“There were many factors that went against us today, such as our right side, which was bad today. We also didn't start well in defence and this caused us many problems. We just weren't good enough and when you play a team of that calibre it was always going to be difficult. We hoped to play for a medal but now we will play for our dignity in the classification matches.”
Game 3, 15.10 – Quarterfinals: Brazil v Croatia 6-10 (2-3, 1-4, 3-1, 0-2)
Referees: Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU), Benjamin Mercier (FRA)
BRAZIL: Slobodan Soro, Jonas Crivella, Ruda Franco, Ives Alonso, Paulo Slaemi, Bernando Gomes 3, Adrian Baches 1, Felipe da Costa 1, Bernardo Rocha, Felipe Perrone, Gustavo Guimaraes 1, Josip Vrlic, Vicinius Antonelli (GK). Head coach: Ratko Rudic
CROATIA: Marko Bijac, Damir Buric 1, Antonio Petkovic, Luka Loncar, Maro Jokovic 3, Luka Bukic 1, Marko Macan, Andro Buslje 1, Sandro Sukno 1, Ivan Krapic, Andelo Setka, Javier Garcia 3, Josip Pavic (GK). Head coach: Ivica Tucak
Extramen
Brazil: 2 for 9
Croatia: 4 for 11
Penalties
Brazil: 1 for 3
Croatia: 1 for 1
The Croats’ calculations proved to be right: a tanked match against France in order to avoid a QF clash with Serbia, instead, had an easier match-up with Brazil, earned a fine win and a place in the semifinal.
The game itself had its special story, as Brazil’s head coach, Ratko Rudic had led the Croats to Olympic triumph four years ago. However, this time he worked for eliminating them, but his team couldn’t deliver the same performance what they were capable of against Serbia in the prelims.
The arena erupted when Felipe da Costa opened the scoring for Brazil but that was the last time the locals could be absolutely happy with what they were watching. Andro Buslje’s shot from a man-up levelled the score soon, then Marko Bijac stopped Felipe Perrone’s penalty shot, just a minute later Maro Jokovic put away an extra, just as Damir Buric – instead of a 2-1 lead, Brazil was 1-3 down. Bernardo Gomes pulled one back still in the first, but the Croats opened the scoring in the second, with Luka Bukic’s long range shot and things got even worse for the hosts when Gomes’s penalty was also caught by Bijac. Another missed 6 on 5 ruined the Brazil’s team spirit, and some more salt was thrown into the wounds when their opponents netted two goals in 53 seconds for 2-6.
At the half-mark Croatia still enjoyed a 3-7 lead and deep into the third they maintained the gap. However, Brazil could come closer after 4-8, Gomes was on target in action and upon the third try Gustavo Guimaraes could bury a penalty, with 6 seconds remaining in the third. The locals’ psyche was lifted and their team even had two 6 on 5s still at 6-8, had two shots during both, but Bijac was superb in the goal. When Javier Garcia – a Spanish playing for Croatia – scored from a 6 on 4 it was virtually over (6-9), even if 5:13 were left from the match. The time-out didn’t help the Brazilians, Bijac posted one catch after the other, he ended up with 15 and a 71.4% saving percentage. Jokovic’s shot from the distance sealed the Croatian win, the title-holder will have another shot to the gold medal.
Javier Garcia, player, Croatia:
“Croatia gives me a great opportunity to get a medal. I thought Spain was ready to get a medal too but they lost in the quarterfinals to Serbia. In the last three Olympics I've played with Spain, they always lost to Serbia and Montenegro. I think it is hard for Spain to handle how these teams play but I'm looking ahead. I'm playing for Croatia now and I want to do my best for them.”
“I feel good. We've played well through our first six games but it's time for the most important games in the tournament. Getting a medal is our objective.”
Marko Bijac, goalkeeper, Croatia:
“The key today was our concentration. The whole match we didn't let any other factors like the crowd or the referees get to us. We were all concentrated, especially in defence and we deserved this win.”
“We've already played against him three or four times during this Olympic cycle. We already know each other very well so it wasn't too difficult. We also trained with them before the beginning of the Olympics. We knew them and they knew us.”
Felipe Perrone, player, Brazil:
“We tried. It was very difficult. Croatia are the Olympic champions and they have a great defence. But if you think back to three years ago, you would never have imagined Brazil would be playing in the quarterfinals of water polo at the Olympic Games. When it was 8-6 we thought we might have a chance but they are too good. We now need to rise up our head and try to get fifth place.”
“For our coach, Ratko (Rudic) it was like a normal game but of course we were more motivated because if we won we were going to the medals. He told us we must believe we can win and we played the whole game thinking we could, but in the end they are an amazing team and it wasn't possible.”
Game 4, 16.40 – Quarterfinals: Greece v Italy 5-9 (0-2, 2-2, 1-2, 2-3)
Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Sergey Naumov (RUS)
GREECE: Konstantinos Flegkas, Emmanouil Mylonakis, Georgios Dervisis, Konstantinos Genidounias, Ioannis Fountoulis 2, Kyriakos Pontikeas, Christos Afroudakis, Evangelos Delakas, Konstantinos Mourikis 2, Christodoulos Kolomvos, Alexandres Gounas, Angelos Vlachopoulos 1, Stefanos Galanopoulos (GK). Head coach: Theodoros Vlachos
ITALY: Stefano Tempesti, Francesco di Fulvio 1, Niccolo Gitto 1, Pietro Figlioli 3, Andrea Fondelli, Alessandro Velotto, Alessandro Nora 1, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti 1, Michael Bodegas, Matteo Aicardi 2, Nicholas Presciutti, Marco del Luongo (GK). Head coach: Alessandro Campagna
Extramen
Greece: 5 for 13
Italy: 4 for 11
Penalties
none
A much tighter and exciting encounter was expected, instead the Italians outplayed the Greeks in the entire match. In the prelims the Greek team had some memorable performances, especially against Serbia and Hungary (earning a draw against both) but it seems that playing in the second gear against Australia in the last round of the prelims didn’t pay off – they couldn’t switch back to the fourth, and definitely no to the fifth gear.
They were unnoticeable in the first period while Italy began with a great man-up goal from Pietro Figlioli and later Francesco di Fulvio surprised the goalie from the distance for a 0-2 lead. Alessandro Nora added one early in the third, while the Greeks still searched for their game. It took them 11:23 minutes to get on the scoreboard but in 37 seconds Matteo Aicardi hit back from an extra for 1-4.
Konstantinos Mourikis put away a 6 on 5 with 76 seconds before half-time and a blocked Italian shot in a man-up brought some hope for the Greeks. They denied two more Italian extras in the third, but Stefano Tempesti also did his job in the Settebello’s goal. The Greeks also had a 6 on 5 soon but the post saved Italy and inside the last minute Pietro Figlioli sent the ball home from a man-up and 46 seconds later Niccolo Gitto made it 2-6 with a long-range rocket. Slim hopes remained, however, when Ioannis Fountoulis quickly converted a 6 on 5, 4 seconds from time (3-6).
And it was still 4:49 left from the match, when, after a killed Italian man-up, Fountoulis got another one for 4-6. However, the reply came immediately, Nicholas Prescutti’s blast bounced in from the cross-bar, whileFountoulis’s next shot – also in extra – was brilliantly stopped by Tempesti. This was the point, at 3:24 to go, when the Greek drama began to head towards a tragic end, without any chance to turn it around. After getting the bronze at last year World Championships they arrived to Rio with high hopes, offered some really great performances here, but they lost the most crucial match so they have to wait another four years to earn their first ever Olympic medal.
Alessandro Campagna, head coach, Italy:
“We were better than the Greeks in every aspect of the game so our place in the semis is well-deserved. The four teams that are left are the same four teams that made it to the semifinals in London. We've changed seven players since then so I think for us to still be here is a great result. At this moment, Serbia is the best team in the world and we have a lot of respect for them. We have to play without any fear. We have to play with courage, strategy, physicality and passion. We'll see what will happen.”
Matteo Aicardi, player, Italy:
“They beat us to the bronze medal at the world championships in 2015 so this was our revenge. We beat them with a strong defence and behind them, the best goalkeeper ever (Stefano Tempesti).”
Christos Afroudakis, captain, Greece:
“It was one of the worst games we have had in the last three years. We were more stressed than normal and this affected our reactions in attack and defence. I think 100% it was a mix of the pressure and our lack of experience in playing these type of matches. We couldn't manage the game right from the beginning and Italy deserved to win.”
“We will play without any stress and we will try to achieve the best position. We must respect ourselves as athletes; it is our work and it is our jobs to finish these Games as high as we can.”
“We have a really young team that has a lot of talent and potential. They must continue improving together and, as they are so young, these Games have given them more experience and they will benefit from that in the future. I don't know about my future, whether I will continue, but I will make a decision after the tournament has finished.”
Semifinals:
Montenegro v Croatia
Italy v Serbia
Places 5-8:
Hungary v Brazil
Greece v Spain