Saturday, March 8
Semi Final
| hour | no | game | intermediate results | final result | referees | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 | 35 |
KAZ - MEX for places 11th - 12th |
1-4 | 2-1 | 4-2 | 2-4 | 9 - 11 | Bohat, Chaney |
| 14:30 | 36 | SVK - IRI | 4-1 | 6-1 | 5-1 | 3-1 | 18 - 4 | Spiegel, Terpenka |
| 16:00 | 37 | MKD - BRA | 4-1 | 3-0 | 2-2 | 1-5 | 10 - 8 | Ghafouri, Gomez |
| 17:30 | 38 | GRE - ITA | 3-3 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 8 - 9 | Matache, Brguljan |
| 19:00 | 39 | GER - CAN | 2-0 | 3-2 | 0-1 | 3-3 | 8 - 6 | Patteli, Tulga |
Games 31 - 44 must be played to a conclusion.
Accordingly it may be necessary to apply Water Polo rules regarding extra time.
see Top Scorers | see Goalkeeper Statistics | see Overall Team Statistics | see Cumulative Statistics
Ranking
| team | rank |
|---|---|
Mexico (MEX) |
11 |
Kazakhstan (KAZ) |
12 |
Game reviews
Game 35: 13:00, Saturday, March 8
Classification 11-12
KAZAKHSTAN 9 MEXICO 11
Referees: Jan BOHAT (SVK), Aaron CHANEY (USA).
Quarters: 1-4, 2-1, 4-2, 2-4
Teams:
KAZAKHSTAN: Dimitriy AXYONKIN, Mixail KOLOTVIN, Amirbek SAPAROV, Nurlan SARTAEV (1), Alan ORAZALINOV (3), Roman PILIPENKO, Yernur KOILEYEV, Rustam UKUMANOV (1), Mikhail RUDAY, Ravil MANAFOV (3), Adil TEMRXANOV (1), Alexex DENCHENKO. Head Coach:
Askar ORAZALINOV.
MEXICO: Orlando ORTEGA, Diego CASTANEDA (1), Rainer SCHMIDT (2), Jorge LOPEZ, Daniel VAZQUEZ, Maximiliano AGUILAR (3), Oliver ALVAREZ (2), Fausto VAZQUE (1), Armando GARCIA, Richard SCHMIDT (2), Gonzalo MEJIA, Jorge PEREZ, Andres ONETO. Head Coach:
Raul DE LA PENA.
Match report:
Mexico emerged with a well-deserved victory against a Kazakhstan team that lost control of its emotions. The end turned into a debacle as fighting erupted at one end of the pool while Mexico was on attack. Kazakhstan had lost coach Orazalinov near the end of the third quarter when he contested a non-decision of an apparent ball under that led to a goal against his team. He gained the yellow card, closely followed by the red at a time that saw Brazil level the game at 7-7. His side was 4-0 down in the first quarter and levelled at 5-5 and 6-6 before taking the lead through Ukmanunov. Manafov gave Kazakhstan the lead at the top of the fourth quarter but Alvarez converted a penalty goal and Aguilar outmuscled two defenders in centre forward for 9-8. Orazalinov drilled a shot from eight metres to level at 1:38 and the game looked set for extra time but Castaneda converted an extra goal after a timeout at 1:09. Kazakhstan took a timeout at 0:58 but the shot was blocked and Mexico swam away. While on attack and about to shoot, the referee threw out a Kazakh player back on the five-metre line at the other end. Two more Kazakhs were thrown as punches were thrown and "confrontations" in front of the referee. The clock quietly slipped from 15 seconds to one, Alvarez took a penalty after a few minutes of tantrums and Mexico had won 11-9, finishing in 11th place.
Russell McKinnon / FINA Press
Game 36: 14:30, Saturday, March 8
GROUP 7-10
SLOVAKIA 18 IRAN 4
Referees: Ulrich SPIEGEL (GER), Doriel TERPENKA (CAN).
Quarters: 4-1, 6-1, 5-1, 3-1
Teams:
IRAN: Ali Reza SHAHIDIPOUR, Arameh
AGHAZARIAN, Seyed MIR MEDI (3), Mahdi KARAMIZARANDI, Mohammad MEHDI TEIRAN, Ali
PIROZKHAH, Kambiz AFSHARI (1), Khadempir SOHEIL, Mohsen JALILI, Shirijian ALIAKBAR,
Sadjad ABDIHANJANI, Amir HOSSEIN KHANI, Meisam JAFARI.
Head Coach: Nevan KOVACEVIC.
SLOVAKIA: Michal GOGOLA, Peter NEDBAL
(2), Juraj ZATOVIC (2), Josef HROSIK (4), Lukas SEMAN, Alexander NAGY, Martin PALASCAK,
Karol BACO (1), Andrej JANICEK (3), Martin MRAVIK (1), Michal KRATOCHVIL (2), Thomas
BRUDER (3), Michal HRUSKA. Head Coach:
Ante NAKIC.
Match report:
Slovakia advanced to the play-off for seventh with a resounding victory over Iran,
probably still celebrating its win from yesterday. Slovakia played better than it
had all week but against a weaker team. Counter-attack was the norm and the power
shooters had a field day. Iran toiled hard for goals with Mir Mehdi leading the
charge with three. Hroski, top-scorer with four goals, scored from a penalty as
did Afshari for Iran. Russell McKinnon / FINA
Press
Game 37: 16:00, Saturday, March 8
GROUP 7-10
FYRO MACEDONIA 10 BRAZIL 8
Referees: Nader GHAFOURI (IRI), Fillipo GOMEZ (ITA).
Quarters: 4-1, 3-1, 2-2, 1-5
Teams:
FYROM: Dalibor PERCINIC, Risto MAGKOVIC
(1), Ivan VUKSANOVIC (1), Goran KRSTONOSIC, Hebojsa MILIC, Saso POPOVSKI, Marko
MICIC, Vladimir KRECKOVIC (4), Dusan KRSTIC, Marko BASIC (1), Dimitah DIMOVSKI (1),
Danijel BENIC (2), Milos UROSEVIC. Head Coach:
Alexandar KRSTONOSIC.
BRAZIL: Luis SANTOS, Vicente HENRIQUES
(2), Gabriel ROCHA (1), Lucas VITA, Marcelo FRANCO (3), Conrado BERTOWZZI, Bernardo
ROCCA (1), Felipe SILVA, Erik SEEGERER, Bruno NOLASCO, Mario CAROTINI, Rafael FARIAS
(1), Anderson SOUZA. Head Coach:
Barbaro DIAS.
Match report:
By halftime there was little interest in the game, especially on a day when Romania
is not playing. However, Brazil seemed to awaken from its slumbers. By squaring
the third period and blowing MKD away in the final quarter, it regained some lost
pride when 7-1 adrift. Kreckovic gained two of his four goals on counter and his
long-range bomb at 0:38 in the last put paid to any slim hope Brazil had of forcing
extra time. Franco, though, relished in the final three minutes, gaining three goals
and scoring the last on extra from dep right just four seconds from the final hooter.
Russell McKinnon / FINA Press
Game 38: 17:30, Saturday, March 8
GROUP 1-4 Semifinal
GREECE 8 ITALY 9
Referees: Radu MTACHE (ROU), Mario BRGULJAN (MNE).
Quarters: 3-3, 1-2, 2-2, 2-2
Teams:
GREECE: Nikolaos DELIGIANNIS, Anastasios
SCHIZAS, Dimitrios MAZIS, Konstantinos KOKKINAKIS (1), Ioannis THOMAKOS (3), Argyris
THEODOROPOULOS, Christos AFROUDAKIS, Georgios NTOSKAS (2), Georgios AFROUDAKIS (1),
Dimitriy MITELOUDIS, Matthaios VOULGARAKIS, Emmanouil MYLONAKIS (1), Georgios REPPAS.
Head Coach: Alessandro CAMPAGNA.
ITALY: Stefano TEMPESTI, Francesco
POSTIGLIONE (3), Leonardo BINCHI, Fabrizio BUONOCORE (1), Luigi DI COSTANZO (1),
Maurizio FELUGO, Andrea MANGIANTE, Alberto ANGELINI, Fabio BENCIVENGA (3), Alessandro
CALCATERRA (1), Leonardo SOLTANI, Federico MISTRANGELO, Fabio VIOLETTI.
Head Coach: Paolo MALARA.
Match report:
Italy turned the tables on Greece from the preliminary rounds in a game where Greece's
shooting was off-target. Greece held a 2-1 lead after two minutes but Postiglione
scored his second to level on extra. Thomakos fired in a shot from the top but di
Costanzo levelled on action for 3-3 at the first break. Italy then took control
of the game with Bencivenga on extra early in the second quarter and on counter
late in the period. Ntoskas levelled at 4-4 but it took nearly four minutes for
Italy to take the advantage. Calcaterra snapped in a rebound with a left-hand backhand
so fast his opponent couldn't see it. Thomakos made sure of a penalty Bencivenga
upset Christos Afroudakis who didn't cover on extra man and he scored. Afroudakis
claimed his opponent with inside two metres when he accepted the ball. Ntoskas scored
on extra to trail by a goal at the last break. Buonocore blasted one in from the
top at 6:14 for a two-goal break in the final quarter. Kokkinakis responded on extra,
Italy took a timeout to no effect and Mylonakis converted extra at 2:15 to level
the game at 8-8. The game went into the final minute with a player excluded from
both sides and Greece picking up another to be two down. A Greek returned but the
defence didn't shift fast enough and Postiglione scored what was the winner at 0:52.
Greece took a timeout with less than a seconds to go. When the horn sounded to send
the players down pool, they didn't move. Only when the second horn sounded did they
move and the plan to get Deligiannis to rifle a pass into the zone did not eventuate
and Italy moved into the final. Russell McKinnon
/ FINA Press
Game 39: 19:00, Saturday, March 8
GROUP 1-4 Semifinal
GERMANY 8 CANADA 6
Referees: Decio PATTELI (BRA), Erhan TULGA (TUR).
Quarters: 2-0, 3-2, 0-1, 3-3
Teams:
GERMANY: Alexander TCHIGIR, Florian NAROSKA, Timo PURSCHKE, Marko SAVIC (1), Steffen
DIEROLF, Mark POLITZE, Heiko NOSSEK (3), Thomas SCHERTWITIS (1), Tobias KREUZMANN
(1), Moritz OELER (1), Andreas SCHLOTTERBECK (1), Soren MACKEBEN, Michael ZELLMER.
Head Coach: Hagen STAMM.
CANADA: Robin RANDALL, Constantine KUDABA (2), Devon DIGGLE, Kevin MITCHELL, Justin
BOYD (1), Thomas MARKS, Brandon JUNG, Kevin GRAHAM, Aaron FELTHAM, Sasa PALAMAREVIC,
Jean SAYEGH (1), Nathaniel MILLER (2), Nicholas YOUNGBLUD. Head Coach: Dragan JOVANOVIC.
Match report:
Germany had the experience and the firepower to surge into the final against Italy
with a solid victory to maintain its unbeaten run in this tournament. Kreuzmann
and Oeler scored within a minute in the middle of the first period, the only goals
of the period. Schlotterbeck found himself free on there metres right in front to
score for 3-0 in the first minute of the second period. Just over a minute later
Canada made the scoreboard through Kudaba on counter-attack. Nossek responded two
minutes later and 40 seconds after that Miller brought up Canada's second goal with
a backhand from two metres. Savic claimed a 5-2 advantage for Germany to close the
half. Germany's goal scoring dried up in the third as defence proved the main item
ion the agenda. Only Kudaba's nine-metre shot at 1:25 broke the impasses with Germany
5-3 up heading into the last eight minutes. A Germany timeout yielded a Nossek goal
at 7:09 for 6-3. Canada then ripped back into the game with Sayegh scoring from
deep right on an excellent cross pass. Boyd sent in another from nine metres for
6-5 at 5:18. Nossek redressed the situation for Germany with a drill on extra at
4:15 for 7-5. Canada went to a timeout but lost the ball at centre forward. Schertwitis
pounced on a loose ball and shot into an empty net at 1:25 for 8-5. Canada had two
attempts on extra, hitting the wood each time as the game moved into the final minute.
Canada had the last attack and had two attempts with Miller gaining a goal from
two metres. It will have to be content with playing for third against Greece. Russell McKinnon / FINA Press
Day 7 report
Italy and Germany to clash in OGQT final
Italy and Germany will play the final of the men's Olympic Games Qualification Tournament at the Ioan Alexandrescu Pool here tomorrow. Both came through searching semifinals today with the carrot in the final being a top-line position in the draw for the Olympics, to be made in Beijing on March 22. The winner will be paired with Montenegro, the European qualifier in the 12-team competition. For Italy it was a turnaround from the group play where it lost out to Greece for the second qualification sport. Greece looked underdone and struggled with getting the ball on target while Italy stuck to its plan and controlled the game for most of the match. Italy drew level at 2:15 of the last quarter but Postiglione scored the winner at 0:52 to send his team into the final against Germany. Germany defeated Canada, a surprise Olympic qualifier and responsible for the attendance of only150 Romanians today, by 8-6. Germany had a 5-2 advantage at halftime and never gave away enough opportunities for Canada to get into the game. Canada relished just being in the semifinals, something that was only dreamed about less than 24 hours before. Ironically, the supposedly weak group, has supplied three of the four qualifiers in Greece, Italy and Canada. In the round of 7-10, Slovakia thrashed Iran 18-4 and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia held out Brazil 10-8. The winners play for seventh tomorrow and the losers for ninth. In the play-off for 11th, the game ended in a brawl with Mexico deservedly winning 11-9. Russell McKinnon / FINA Press
