Sports Flash

The finals of the National Women's Handball League has come close to its decisive game. Baschet Arad and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe are running neck and neck on aggregate, 2-all, after Arad secured a 67-63 home win on Wednesday.

US player Andreona Lanay Keys was the hosts' best player with 28 points. Another US player Brianna Fraser was the visitors' best scorer with 18 points. The finals is played in the best-of-five system, with Sepsi winning the first two and Arad the other two matches. The final's decisive game is due on Saturday, April 30th in Sfantu Gheorghe, central Romania.

Football now. Rapid Bucharest's stadium in Giuleşti will be hosting the Romanian Cup finals, which is due on May 19th at 20:30 local time. The stadium, which was inaugurated this year, is the new home stadium for Rapid, a football club, which next year will be celebrating 100 years of existence. The construction, which boasts 14 thousand seats, is to be the first Bucharest stadium to host the finals of the aforementioned competition after four years. In 2018, Universitatea Craiova secured a 2-0 win against Hermannstadt. The competition is now in the stage of the semifinals with the first round won by FC Voluntari 2-0 against FC Arges, while Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe secured a 2-1 win against Universitatea Craiova. The return games are to take place over May 10 and 12.

Romania's Judo Federation is expecting two medals from the European Championships hosted by Bulgarian capital Sofia this weekend. The Federation's chair, Cozmin Gușă, has told Agerpres news agency that Romania's representatives in the 73 and 100 kilogram categories stand most of the chances to win a medal in Sofia. They are  Alexandru Raicu, winner of the last year's Grand Slam tournament in Tel Aviv and Adrian  Șulcă, world champion in junior competitions.

In the 100 kilogram category Romania counts on Asley Gonzalez, a Cuban athlete who became a Romanian citizen last year. Gonzales became world champion in Rio in 2013 and silver medalist in London Olympics in 2021. The odds are good for the Romanians as athletes from Russia aren't going to participate in the competition.

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