In a thrilling comeback in the final minutes, with Panagiotis Tzortzatos as the hero in the penalty shootout, Olympiacos defeated Savona in Italy 14-11 (regular time 11-11) and clinched first place in Group D of the Men’s Water Polo Champions League.

The Greek champions were trailing 11-7, but took advantage of an expulsion for Savona’s experienced player, Filippi, due to a foul with 3:49 left. Olympiacos equalized with Papannastasiou’s goal with just 17 seconds remaining and triumphed in the “Russian roulette” penalty shootout, where Tzortzatos saved all three penalties taken by the Italian team.

The victory in this “final” of the 6th matchday means that Olympiacos will be drawn against one of the group winners (Novi Belgrade, Ferencvaros, or Barceloneta) and two of the second-place teams (Jadran Split, Marseille, or Oradea/Steaua) in the quarterfinals, greatly increasing their chances of reaching the Final Four in Malta.

The match started poorly for Olympiacos. Although they opened the scoring with Gkillas, they saw the referees expel Kakaras with substitution after a scuffle with Erdelis in the 4:16 of the first quarter. Taking advantage of the confusion, Savona led 3-1, as Olympiacos squandered several power-play opportunities. A difficult goal by Nikolaidis from 2 meters reduced the deficit to 3-2, but the hosts increased their lead to 5-2 and 6-3 due to their tough defense and effective outside shots.

Two consecutive goals by Alafragkis from the power-play, the second at the last second of the first half, brought Olympiacos back into the game, reducing the deficit to 6-5. Another well-executed power-play at the start of the third period tied the game at 6-6, but Olympiacos hit the woodwork twice, with Genidounias and Dimou’s shots stopped. Savona capitalized with a 3-0 run, regaining a 9-6 lead.

Herbo Kolianin replaced Manno Zerdevas (who had made ten saves) with Panagiotis Tzortzatos. Loncar reduced the lead, but Savona scored at the end of the third quarter, with the evergreen Pietro Filippi, increasing their lead back to three goals at 10-7.

The game seemed to be slipping away from Olympiacos until, with 3:49 left and the score 11-8, Filippi struck Papannastasiou in the head, earning an expulsion without substitution. Genidounias converted the penalty to make it 11-9. Olympiacos lost two more attacks, but Dimou scored with 55 seconds left, and Papannastasiou equalized with just 17 seconds to go, making it 11-11.

In the penalty shootout, Tzortzatos was the star, saving consecutive penalties from Merkoulov, Okione, and Roki. Olympiacos scored all three of their penalties (Zalanki, Fountoulis, Papannastasiou), emerging victorious with the 14-11 win and securing first place in Group D.

Match Scores:
First Quarter: 3-2
Second Quarter: 3-3
Third Quarter: 4-2
Fourth Quarter: 1-4

Penalty Shootout: 0-3

Referees: Peris (Croatia), Koon (Hungary)

Teams:
Savona (Alberto Angelini): Nicosia, Roki, Damonte 2, Filippi 3, Okione, Rizzo 1, Merkoulov 1, Bruni 2, Erdelis, Guindi, Patsalieff 2, Kora, Da Rold
Olympiacos (Herbo Kolianin): Zerdevas, Loncar 1, Gkillas 1, Genidounias 2, Fountoulis 1, Dimou 3, Zalanki 1, Bouslie, Alafragkis 2, Kakaras, Nikolaidis 1, Papannastasiou 2, Zerdevas.