Sports Flash
A roundup of the main sporting events
Florin Orban, 01.02.2024, 13:45
In the EuroCup mens basketball competition, U-BT Cluj-Napoca grabbed a fantastic win against the Spanish side Dreamland Gran Canaria, in a match played on Wednesday, final score 113-111 at the end of stoppage time. The Romanian side won after a cliff-hanging endgame against the defending EuroCup champions, owing to a three-pointer scored by Emanuel Căţe two seconds before the final whistle. The match was balanced overall, at one point the Spanish side securing a 19-point lead. After this win, the Romanian champions are now second-placed in Group B and will play the final match in the group phase on February 7 away from home against Lietkabelis Panevezys of Lithuania. A win would directly qualify the team from Cluj to the competitions quarterfinals.
The Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian lost 6-3, 7-6 to Jodie Burrage of the UK in the round of 16 of the WTA 500 tournament in Linz, totaling some 800 thousand EUR in total prizes. WTA no. 89, Cristian will next week perform in the WTA 250 Transylvanian Open hosted by Cluj-Napoca. Her run in Linz has earned her 11,832 EUR and 73 WTA points.
In news from handball, George Buricea is the new headcoach of the Romanian mens team, replacing Xavier Pascual. The top priority for Buricea is to qualify the team to the World Handball Championships of 2025, the Romanian side being expected to play a playoff match against Czechia in May. In the meantime, George Buricea will continue to coach the local side CSM Constanța.
The World Aquatics Championships are kicking off in Doha, Qatar on Friday. Romania is represented in the polo, swimming and diving events. Constantin Popovici and Cătălin Preda have the biggest chances at winning medals, as they are the defending champion and vice-champion in the high diving event, respectively. The biggest absence from the delegation is David Popovici, the holder of the world record in the 100m freestyle race. Competing in the swimming competition will be Vlad Stancu, Robert Badea, Patrick Dinu, Denis Popescu and Andrei Anghel. Vlad Stancu has already booked his tickets for the Paris Olympics in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle events. The national polo team can qualify to the Olympic Games if it ranks among the top eight teams. (VP)
