Irun's loss knocked them out of contention for the next stage, and they were joined by fellow Spanish side Fraikin BM. Granollers, who were defeated by FC Porto in the last second.
Porto’s win meant group II’s knockout places were all decided but that the quarter-final spot is still up for grabs, as Aarhus, Elverum and Porto all end round 3 on six points.
While Melsungen and Hannover are through, from groups III and IV, respectively, the race for the other knockout places in those groups is tight.
In group III, IFK Kristianstad, HC Vardar 1961 and Sport Lisboa e Benfica are all on four points ahead of the final round, as are Fredericia Håndboldklub, Kadetten Schaffhausen and RK Nexe in goup IV.
HIGHLIGHT MATCHES
GROUP II
Initially it looked as though Porto were the clearly dominant side, as the Portuguese side created a clear lead of 14:7 in the opening 18 minutes. A change in line-up for Granollers and several lost balls on unforced errors from Porto enabled the visitors to come back. Two minutes before half-time, Granollers were within one, 16:15, and with the first two goals after the break, the Spanish side equalised for the first time, 18:18. Then the contest was really on.
18-year-old sensation Marco Fis, who entered the match just after the 15-minute mark, was crucial, scoring nine goals for Granollers, although it was line player Josep Armengol who gave them their first lead at 23:22 in the 43rd. With 25 seconds on the clock, the match was undecided, with the score at 33:33. As Porto had possession and Granollers’ defence pushed up in an attempt to intercept, Rui Silva served a perfect long-range assist to Þorsteinn Gunnarsson for the Icelandic back to clinch the victory. With that, Granollers’ hopes of returning to the knockout phase came to an end and the fate of group II was decided.
