BVSC Manna ABC, CN Marseille and SPD Radnicki all made flying starts to their Euro Cup quarterfinal ties, as each of them won by four or more goals on Wednesday night. The Hungarians claimed the biggest winning margin, beating CSM Oradea by six in Budapest, while Marseille edged closer to revenge against Sabadell after establishing a five-goal cushion in the south of France. Meanwhile, last season’s runners-up Radnicki put one foot in the semi-finals by returning to Serbia with a four-goal advantage against Primorac Kotor. On Thursday, a buzzer beater from captain Zvonimir Butic saw VK Jadran Split win a thrilling clash with Panathinaikos AC that saw three goals inside the last 37 seconds.

2025/26 Euro Cup Men
Quarterfinals, First-Legs
Wednesday 18 March

VPK Primorac Kotor (MNE) 10-14 SPD Radnicki (SRB)
CN Marseille (FRA) 17-12 CN Sabadell (ESP)
BVSC Manna ABC (HUN) 14-8 CSM Oradea (ROU)
*Panathinaikos AC (GRE) 10-11 VK Jadran Split (CRO)
*Played on Thursday 19 March

VPK Primorac Kotor (MNE) 10-14 SPD Radnicki (SRB)
(2-3, 2-3, 4-5, 2-3)

This clash began with great intensity, with Primorac striking first through Savo Cetkovic on extra after two minutes of fierce battling.

However, Radnicki responded quickly, with Angelos Vlachopoulos levelling with a 6m blast.

Goals from Marko Mrsic and Radnicki’s Valiko Dadvani kept the game finely balanced, but a late strike from Nikola Dedovic gave the visitors a narrow 2-3 lead before the first break.

Radnicki began to assert their control in the second period, as Primorac were forced to continually chase the game.

Dusko Pijetlovic converted a man-up early on, and Dedovic extended the Serbians’ lead to three (2-5).

Despite a missed penalty from Mrsic, Primorac stayed in touch as Yusuke Inaba and Balsa Vuckovic made no mistake from the 5m line.

But Radnicki’s superior finishing – highlighted by another man-up strike from Boris Vapenski – gave the Serbians a 4-6 advantage at half-time, and they also had goalkeeper Radoslav Filipovic to thank, as he saved another penalty, this time from Vuckovic just before the turnaround.

In the third, Primorac fought back to within one on four occasions (5-6, 6-7, 7-8 and 8-9), but they could never find an equaliser despite their best efforts.

Radnicki kept pulling away whenever the hosts got close, and the gap was back to three (8-11) heading into the final quarter.

Cetkovic struck first in the fourth from the centre, but Dedovic was on target once more to complete his hat-trick, and when Vlachopoulos fired in his third of the night from an extra for 9-13 with just 2:59 remaining, it was clear Radnicki would be heading back to Serbia with a lead.

The only question remaining was how big that margin would be, and although Cetkovic pulled one back from the centre, Pijetlovic finished off the scoring from 2m to ensure his team will start the second leg with a four-goal advantage.

CN Marseille (FRA) 17-12 CN Sabadell (ESP)
(2-3, 6-3, 3-3, 6-3)

CN Marseille entered this tie with one clear objective – revenge – after CN Sabadell had beaten them twice in the Champions League Group Stage earlier this season, results that ultimately denied them a place in the Quarter Final Stage of the competition.

However, the hosts’ plan looked under threat after the opening period, as they fell 2-3 behind, with goals from Jan Perez, Alberto Barroso and Jack Larsen putting the visitors in front.

Alexandre Bouet levelled early in the second quarter, but Perez responded immediately to restore Sabadell’s advantage.

Marseille, determined not to let history repeat itself, produced a superb response, scoring four unanswered goals to turn the game around and ignite the home crowd.

Perez briefly halted their momentum, and Sergi Cabanas cut the deficit to one (7-6), but a powerful 6m strike from Thomas Vernoux ensured Marseille held an 8-6 lead at half-time.

Veteran Michael Bodegas extended the advantage just 22 seconds into the third quarter, but Sabadell refused to let the game slip away and remained within touching distance at 11-9 heading into the final period.

Cabanas struck early in the fourth to reduce the gap further, but Sabadell were unable to find an equaliser.

Goals from Efstathios Kalogeropoulos and a penalty from Vernoux restored a three-goal cushion for Marseille (13-10) with 5:20 remaining.

There was still time for six more goals and, after 14-12, Marseille delivered what could prove to be a decisive blow, scoring three without reply – including a fourth of the night for Vernoux.

The home defence also proved crucial, shutting down three late Sabadell man-ups to secure a commanding position ahead of the return leg, where they will start with a five-goal advantage.

BVSC Manna ABC (HUN) 14-8 CSM Oradea (ROU)
(2-3, 5-1, 1-1, 6-3)

Both teams converted their opening six-on-fives, before Lazar Dobozanov saved a penalty from David Tatrai – who had earlier scored on the extra.

Oradea then struck again through Ferenc Czenk to take a 1-2 lead, and Dobozanov followed with another penalty save to pave the way for a 1-3 advantage, as Ivan Gusarov fired home from the perimeter.

Erik Csacsovszky responded with a powerful finish from the left wing, but although the Romanians wasted a six-on-four without a shot, the hosts also failed to convert their final man-up of the period.

BVSC turned the game early in the second quarter. Miklos Csapo levelled with a similar effort to Csacsovszky, and just 47 seconds later Zsombor Ekler converted a six-on-five to put the hosts ahead for the first time at 4-3.

With Oradea struggling to beat Viktor Gyapjas from distance, Csapo added another on extra to complete a 4-0 run.

Although BVSC missed a chance to extend their lead further, Gardasevic responded for Oradea at the second attempt, but Zsombor Szeghalmi capitalised immediately on a defensive error to restore a two-goal cushion at 6-4.

Ekler then added another six-on-five goal to give BVSC a 7-4 lead at half-time.

Oradea opened the third with a well-worked six-on-five, finished by Tiberiu Negrean, but Dobozanov’s save in a counterattack and further defensive efforts – including killing a six-on-four – kept them in contention.

Even so, they struggled offensively after their earlier surge, missing two extras, while Gyapjas continued to shut down perimeter attempts. With 1:36 remaining, Mor Benedek converted a six-on-five to restore the three-goal gap at 8-5, and it remained that way at the break after a physically demanding quarter.

Csacsovszky’s powerful strike early in the fourth signalled renewed energy, and he quickly turned provider, setting up Erik Bundschuh at centre to make it 10-5 inside 73 seconds, prompting a time-out from the Oradea bench.

The visitors forced consecutive exclusions in the same possession but failed to capitalise, and Benedek Batizi punished them with a strong centre-forward finish.

Although Ekler was denied in a one-on-one by Dobozanov, Negrean converted Oradea’s next six-on-five to reduce the gap – a key moment in a home-and-away quarter-final context.

BVSC missed another extra and Gardasevic scored on the counter, cutting the deficit further and reigniting the contest with 3:19 remaining.

However, Szeghalmi ended the hosts’ brief dip with a composed six-on-five finish, and Gyapjas produced another crucial save during a six-on-four.

At the decisive moment, Csacsovszky converted from the penalty line to push BVSC clear at 13-7 with 1:11 to play.

David Belenyesi offered a late response with a six-on-five goal 35 seconds from time, but BVSC had the final word.

Following a time-out, Ekler unleashed a powerful strike with seven seconds remaining to seal an emphatic six-goal victory for the Hungarians.

Panathinaikos AC (GRE) 10-11 VK Jadran Split (CRO)
(2-2, 3-2, 1-3, 4-4)

After edging past the other Jadran – Herceg Novi – in the Eight Finals on penalties, Panathinaikos’ hopes of eliminating another Champions League side took a hit on Thursday after a narrow loss to VK Jadran Split in Athens.

The game was a tight defensive battle full of drama, with the lead changing hands on several occasions.

But the biggest excitement came deep in the fourth quarter, when Jadran were leading 8-10 with just over a minute remaining.

It was the second time in the clash the visitors had held a two-goal advantage – after 0-2 in the opening four minutes – and despite a brief blip in the third period, Panathinaikos pretty much matched their opponents blow for blow. They even took the lead for the third time (8-7) midway through the final quarter.

The Croatians responded with a three-goal burst to move 8-10 ahead, which set the stage for a thrilling finale.

Loren Fatovic had a glorious chance to extend the lead to three, but he crashed his penalty against the outside of the right post just before the last minute.

With 0:37 on the clock, Dimitrios Skoumpakis struck to bring the hosts within one. Then, with 12 seconds remaining, Fatovic expertly escaped Nikolaos Kopeliadis on 5m but sent his lob over the crossbar.

Panathinaikos immediately launched a counterattack and the ball found a now unmarked Kopeliadis on the right wing, who fully capitalised on Fatovic’s miss, rifling a shot under Marko Bijac’s outstretched left arm.

The goal brought the home crowd to their feet once more, and with just four seconds to go, it seemed the Greeks would be heading to Croatia in two weeks level – but there was still time for one last twist.

Jadran coach Jure Marelja called a time-out, and when play resumed, captain Zvonimir Butic was allowed to drift forward from the halfway line and he unleashed a fierce long-range blast into the bottom-left corner, which left Adrian Weinberg stunned in the Panathinaikos goal.

It was a cruel blow for the hosts but sheer delight for the visitors, and even with only a slender advantage, Jadran will firmly believe they can now finish the job in Split.

“Today was a very difficult match against a very tough opponent,” said Jadran coach Jure Marelja. “We struggled a lot and had luck on our side in the end.

“We took a very small lead for the second leg, but it will be a completely different game. It’s a match that starts from scratch, and we must show the same, if not greater, concentration.”

“We got a big win, but practically we will have to repeat the same, and perhaps a better, performance in the second leg to secure qualification,” added Jadran’s Jerko Marinic Kragic. “We won at the end, but we must protect our home court.”

“It was a given for us that all matches from here on would be close, and we saw that today,” said Panathinaikos coach Dimitris Mazis. “We are not the favorites to qualify for the next round, but we will fight for it. I want to warmly thank the fans who filled the pool and gave us a boost; we will battle for the best possible outcome.”

“We can definitely get the qualification in Croatia, as we showed that we are very close to our opponent,” commented Panathinaikos’ Nikos Kopeliadis. “Besides, it was evident in the progress of the match; we literally lost it at the end by one goal, and I believe we still have a chance.”

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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics