The men’s water polo team of Apollon Smyrna will face Etceide Tenerife in the semi-finals of the Challenger Cup, if they overcome the obstacle of Galatasaray in the quarter-finals of the newly established competition. The rematch of the “amphibious brigade” in Istanbul, which was supposed to take place yesterday (8/2), was postponed to February 18, due to the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and left behind thousands of dead. Apollon have the edge for qualification, having won 9-5 at “Serafio”, and if they do, they will travel to Tenerife for the first match on March 1 and host the Spanish side on 22/3.
Etseide has already faced two Greek teams this year: in the first qualifying phase of the EURO Cup, they were defeated by PAOK 8-7, were eliminated from the next round and “relegated” to the Challenger Cup. There, it took first place in the qualifying group, defeating among others Hdraikos with 13-10, while in the quarter-finals it easily overcame the obstacle of Kozice from Slovakia with two wins. Its roster features veteran Albert Espanyol, a former Olympic player and international player with the Spanish national team, with whom he had competed in the World Championship final in 2009, and had also participated in the London Olympics.
In the other semi-final pair of the Challenger Cup, Spain’s Terasa and Turkey’s Enka will face each other.
Follow News Bulletin 247 on Google News to be the first to learn the latest news .
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
