Sports Weekend

Romania’s men’s handball champion team Dinamo Bucharest Thursday night grabbed a 35-30 home win, 18-15 at half time, in a match against Spanish opponents Abanca Ademar Leon. The fixture counted towards Champions league’s Group D in men’s handball. Tunisian Amine Bannour was Dinamo’s best handballer, scoring no less than 11 goals. Dinamo Bucharest’s win against Abanca Ademar Leon earned the Romanians the top position in their group, bringing them 10 points out 7 games played. With 9 points out of 7 games played, Abanca Ademar Leon are the runner-up team, while 3rd-placed are Poland’s Orlen Wisla Plokc, with 8 points out of 6 games played. In descending order, the other Group D teams are Norwegian side Elverum Handball, with 8 points out of 6 games played, Finland’s Riihimaen Cocks, with 2 points out of 6 games, and Swiss side Wacker Thun, with only 1 point out of 6 games played. Dinamo Bucharest will next take on Elverum Handball on November 18, away from home.

Ștefan Rancu, 09.11.2018, 13:30

Romanian women’s handball champion team CSM Bucharest on Sunday travel to Hungary, for a game against FTC Rail Cargo Hungaria, in a match counting towards Champions League’s Group D. CSM’s most recent record includes a home defeat by Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand. After 3 rounds in the women’s version of Champions league, FTC Rail Cargo Hungaria are at the top of the table in group D, with 6 points, followed by CSM Bucharest, with 4, Vipers Kristiansand and Germany’s SG BBM Bietigheim, with 3 points each. The first three teams in the group will book their ticket for the competition’s main groups.

Next it’s news from rugby, as on Saturday, November 10, Romania’s national team take on the team of Portugal in the northern Romanian city of Baia Mare. A win in this playoff fixture earns the Romanian national squad a place among the teams competing in the Rugby Europe Championship. The World Rugby Federation officially banned Romania from taking part in the 2019 edition of the World Cup in Japan as in the qualifying matches Romania used an ineligible rugby player. The Romanian national squad has thus become a bottom-of-the- table team according to the Rugby Europe Championship 2018 rankings and will have to take on Portugal, a team that in 2018 won the third-tier Rugby Europe Trophy. The winner of the match will secure their position in the 2018-2019 edition of Rugby Europe Championship. Head-to-heads so far shows that Romania took on Portugal 24 times, Romania winning 21 matches, and Portugal, three. Romania and Portugal were last pitted against one another in a European Cup of Nations match played in February 2016. Back then, the Cluj Arena saw Romania thrashing Portugal, 39-14. Portugal last won a match against Romania in 2011, also in the European Cup of Nations, when in Lisbon, Portugal defeated the national Romanian squad, 24-17.

We go out with news from football, as this coming weekend will see matches being played, counting towards the 15th-round of the domestic championship. On Friday, Universitatea Craiova take on Sepsi Sfintu Gheorghe. Three other games are scheduled on Saturday, as Astra Giurgiu go against Politehnica Iasi, Viitorul Constanta are pitted against Concordia Chiajna, while CFR Cluj take on Dunarea Calarasi. On Sunday, FC Hermannstadt Sibiu play FC Botosani, while Dinamo Bucharest take on FCSB. The round’s closing match on Monday will see Gaz Metan Medias facing FC Voluntari, a bottom-of-the-table team with a new head coach at the helm, the Italian Cristiano Bergodi. Ahead of the aforementioned fixtures, CFR Cluj are at the top of the table, with 29 points, followed by FCSB with 27 points. Following in descending order are Universitatea Craiova and Viitorul Constanta, each with 25 points.