The Buducnost Bemax handball players missed their chance for the round of 27 in the Champions League as Debrecen triumphed over Bojana Popović’s team with a score of 21:XNUMX in the “Bemax Arena,” effectively ending a season that everyone associated with the club will be eager to forget.

With four matches remaining, claiming 6th place has become unfeasible. In the upcoming encounters against Djerba and Odense at home, and Savehof and Bitighajm away, Popović’s focus will be on utilizing local players and preparing them for the crucial double-header against Serbia in the EHF Euro qualifiers and the more significant Olympic Games tournament scheduled from April 11 to 14 in Ulm.

The potential for another negative record to be set is now of little consequence. The club has already endured a series of unprecedented defeats this fall and winter—starting with the harshest loss in club history recorded in Odense (39:24), followed by another grim outing in Djerba (37:19) and Bucharest (44:26), where ĆSM outperformed the previous high from Mar Valencia in 1998 (40:26).

Armel Atingre kicked off the match impressively, pushing the visitors to their limits, prompting Zoltan Silađi to call a timeout after 10 minutes and 25 seconds, following Atingre’s seventh save. His players responded effectively—within 136 seconds, they netted four goals (two from counterattacks) to take the lead at 4:3.

From that point onward, it was evident that the “blues” would struggle to achieve their secondary goal of winning by at least a six-goal margin. Their main objective shifted to securing just their second victory of the Champions League season to maintain at least a theoretical hope of advancing to the round of 16.

As halftime approached, the teams traded leads, but the Hungarians kicked off the second half at an elevated pace, achieving a three-goal lead (15:12) by the 37th minute with goals from Petra Vamoš, Vivijen Groš, and the seventh from Greta Kačor. Despite Atingre’s remarkable saves against Kačor and Groš at a 12:12 tie, the attack lacked resolution.

Among the defenders, only Kalidijata Nijakata made a notable effort, but it proved insufficient against a rival Buducnost originally expected to claim four points this season. Having taken none, the team will now aim solely to avoid finishing last in Group A in their remaining four games.

Currently with three points, they face a Savehof side yet to score, but the Swedish champions will host both Buducnost and Debrecen before the season concludes, creating a situation where they will certainly try to pass the “lantern” to the “blues.”…

FUTURE BEMAX – DEBRECEN 21:27 (11:11)

Podgorica – “Bemax Arena”. Attendance: 150. Referees: Alvares and Bustamante (Spain). Penalty Shots: Buducnost Bemax 5 (4), Debrecen 4 (3). Exclusions: Buducnost Bemax 6, Debrecen 2 minutes.

Future Bemax: ATINGRE (13 saves and seven goals), Gigerih (one save), MARSENIĆ 2, Marković, J. Vukčević 1 (1), GODEČ 4 (2), Popović, NIJAKATE 8 (1), ČALIŠKAN, IVANOVIĆ 1, Agović, Radević, Tomova, Kadović, PAVIĆEVIĆ 5, N. Vukčević.

Debrecen: BARTULOVIĆ (nine saves), Gabriel (seven saves), HAMORI 3, Johanson, Fizi-Tovizi, Groš 2, Jovović 1, M. VAMOŠ 3, Černjanski, TEPFNER, P. VAMOŠ 6, PLANETA 2, KAČOR 9 (3), HAGERTI 1, Petruš, Hornjak.

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