RRI Sports Club

The women's handball team CSM Bucharest has this week taken a big step towards winning the national championship. Coach Adrian Vasile's students beat the defending champions, Rapid Bucharest, 27-26, and went 9 points ahead of them in the ranking. 

The match was quite balanced, with both team taking turns in the lead, but CSM went 4 goals ahead of Rapid in the last 10 minutes of the game. The best scorer for the winning team was Cristina Neagu, with 8 goals, while for Rapid Orlane Kanor scored 6 times. Rapid missed Sorina Grozav, one of the best players of today's generation in Romanian handball.  

After this 14th leg of the championship, CSM ranks first with 40 points, followed by Gloria Bistrița, with 34 and SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, with 32. Rapid only comes 4th, with 31 points.

This weekend, CSM and Rapid are playing in the Champions League, and SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea in the EHF European League. On Saturday Rapid are taking on Group B leaders Metz in France. This is a critical game for the Romanian champions, as a win would secure their place in the quarter-finals. Metz is currently top of the table with 21 points, followed by 3 teams with 18 points: Győr (Hungary), Esbjerg (Denmark), and Rapid.

In Group A, CSM play at home on Sunday against another French team: Brest Bretagne. Romania's vice-champions are already qualified into the quarter-finals and top the group with 21 points. Next come Vipers Kristiansand (Norway), with 19 points.

In EHF European League, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea play at home on Saturday against Thüringer. The German team is currently the leader of Group D, with 6 points in 3 matches. Vâlcea comes second with 2 points, followed by Paris 92 (France), and Vác (Hungary). (AMP)