PORTO - When Dani Sánchez and Rui Costa hugged after the last and winning point of the evening, it was symbolic for the emotion that had kept the Portuguese audience on edge for two hours, in the deciding match. The home team of of FC Porto, put under pressure by their misstep against BK Grøndal, had to beat the seemingly invincible Turks of Gaziantepspor or play a draw in order to advance to the semifinals.
The Portuguese players, led by Torbjörn Blomdahl and Dani Sánchez were one foot out the door already, but they showed character and class under pressure. Not only did Blomdahl and Sánchez get the applause for their victories over Frédéric Caudron and Tayfun Tasdemir, also Manuel Rui Costa, seasoned player and Porto icon, shone like never before.
The hosts victory over the Turks (6-2) put them in the final four, and was the highlight of their group play. Dani Sánchez radiated happiness, as he was congratulated by the fans after his match. The Spaniard had predicted that his team would finally make a bid for the European title, but the first group loss had raised doubts. Still, they came through on their last chance, a match that some viewed as a final before the final.
The Turkish opponents could afford the 6-2 defeat and advanced to the semi's as group winner. They will play Escuela Madrid tomorrow at 10.00, Portuguese time. FC Porto will face Andernos at 12.00, in the other semi. On decision day, French Andernos remained unbeaten (three wins), with Roland Forthomme as the best player.
The Spaniards of Escuela Madrid advanced, thanks to a win over the dethroned champions of last year, Dallinga from the Netherlands. Roland Forthomme and Francis Connesson were the most valuable players for Andernos. Filippos Kasidokostas lost to Belgian coming man Steven van Acker, and Jérôme Barbeillon was far from his best form. Ruben Legazpi was an excellent lead man for Madrid. He won twice, lost on a single carom (40-39) to Dutchman Jean-Paul de Bruijn.
Dallinga ended third in their group, ahead of FC Leca, a team that won only one of their twelve matches (Aranha), and had one draw (Gomes). Gaziantepspor showed its supremacy in the first and second match, but proved to be vulnerable as well, in the third. Caudron could not keep up with Blomdahl, who first trailed 18-11 and 19-14, but took the lead with a run of 11. The Swede went from 35-21 to a winning final score of 40-27 in 18. It was the first blow struck by Porto. Manuel Rui Costa had a furious start against Can Capak, running two nines in the first half of the match (25-4), and it proved to be enough for a 40-25 in 24 win.
It gave Porto the draw they needed, but after Murat Naci Coklu had beaten Joao Ferreira 40-33 in 24, the fat lady sang in the match between Dani Sánchez and Tayfun Tasdemir. They were neck and neck at 35-35, and the Spaniard brought the crowd to their feet when he finished the match with a beautiful run of five.
BK Grøndal could look back on a fine tournament, but the Porto win did mean they missed out on the semifinals. CetSi Morangis managed to draw against Grøndal, but they remained a disappointing fourth in the group. Eddy Merckx, first board of the Parisian team, still recorded the highest average of the group phase: 2.207. Roland Forthomme averaged 2.181 in three matches, Torbjörn Blomdahl 1.947, Frédéric Caudron 1.844, Eddy Leppens 1.677 and Dani Sánchez 1.583. High runs in the flights: 1 Jean Paul de Bruijn, Roland Forthomme and Eddy Leppens met 13. 4 Patrick Vasseur and Jéröme Barbeillon with 12.
Semifinals on Sunday:
10.00 Portuguese time:
Gaziantepspor-Escuela Madrid
Caudron-Legazpi
Tasdemir-Palazon
Coklu-Martinez
Capak-Andaluz
FC Porto-Andernos (12.00):
Blomdahl-Forthomme
Sánchez-Kasidokostas
Ferreira-Barbeillon
Rui Costa-Connesson.