MADRID, 5 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Zodiac CNAB was proclaimed champion of the Copa del Rey waterpoolo this Sunday by beating Astralpool CN Sabadell on penalties in a dramatic final, with a heroic Nicholas Jon Porter who jumped off the bench to be the protagonist in the shootout.
Elvis Fatovic relied on Porter for the shots after an agonizing 9-9 for a Zodiac CNAB that had him lost, until Pavillard came to the rescue with 3 seconds to go. The Australian goalkeeper stopped Sabadell’s last two shots in the shootout, truncating the host’s aspiration.
CNAB started the final effectively, which resulted in an open quarter (3-2), with alternatives and a lot of attack. The second quarter brought more contention, but hostilities soon returned, with the locals turning the score around (3-4) with a great Bernat Sanahuja, reaching 4-5 at halftime.
Barceloneta tied at the end of the third, although Perrone had to place it in the squad to beat an intense Lorrio, but Sabadell once again proved infallible in attack with Sanahuja to go two up at the end. The defense of the title was complicated for CNAB, but once again Felipe came to the rescue (7-8).
Later, a defensive oversight was well taken advantage of by Martin Famera to equalize, Averka put Sabadell ahead and Pavillard, less than four seconds away, forced the penalties. That is where Porter emerged, who, despite the MVP of Sanahuja and Lorrio, was the great protagonist of the eleventh Cup followed by Barceloneta.