Málaga men complete ebt Finals sweep

FINAL 
F.F.DEPORTE CBMP CIUDAD DE MÁLAGA (ESP) VS GÖTEBORG BEACH HANDBALL CLUB (SWE) 2:0 (24:20, 26:29, 9:8)

• Both teams made a powerful start to the final, but Málaga took the lead one minute before the end of the first set with two goals from Gil Pires, putting the result beyond doubt
• Göteborg, who had eliminated the defending champions on their road to the final, stormed through the second set, with the lead reaching as high as 10 points
• The finalists remained calm during the shoot-out until the fourth series, when Martin Kack missed the shot for the Swedes, thereby opening the door to the title for their opponents
• Alberto Iglesias García scored the winning point, securing a historic win for the Málaga-based team
• Despite being led on court by Jesper Knutsson, one of the legends of the game, Göteborg failed to avenge their loss to Málaga in the main round, as the two teams had already met earlier in the competition
• Alvaro Perez Catala was the top scorer in the Spanish squad with 20 points, while Victor Paldanius and Petter Brandt led the Swedish team with 18 points each
• Paldanius was the competition's top scorer (165 points), earning him a place in the All-Star Team alongside Göteborg goalkeeper Max Dahlén and Málaga defender Thiago de Oliveira

3/4 PLACEMENT MATCH
NITERÓI RUGBY FC (IRL) VS BHC ZAGREB (CRO) 1:2 (23:20, 22:27, 12:13)

• The tenth series of the shoot-out proved to be lucky for the Zagreb-based defending champions; Roko Cvitanić secured victory for the Croatians after de Lamare made a technical mistake in the same round
• Even without their biggest stars, such as Ivan Juric and Lucian Bura, who drove the 2025 success, Croatia’s young team — whose oldest player is 25 and who have five players aged 17 — staged a surprise and showed that they shouldn’t be ruled out
• Fueled by Brazilian talent, Niterói dominated the first set and kept their nerve in the final minutes when Zagreb closed the gap to one point
• BHC Zagreb dominated the second set, driven by a power play from tournament's MVP Domagoj Kulis, who also finished as the team’s top scorer with 130 points
• It was clear on Sunday morning that the title holders would be dethroned when they lost in the semi-finals to Göteborg; Málaga was too strong for Niterói in the morning semi-finals
• The placement matches determined the final ranking, which can be found here

Photos: Joe Pappalardo