Bronze medal match – Italy 12, Montenegro 10
Just when Montenegro thought they had a chance late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s men’s water polo bronze medal match, Italy’s masked man came out of nowhere to take the wind out of their sails.
Italy’s Matteo Aicardi, who has worn a mask on his face throughout the Rio Games after breaking his nose in the opening match, threw a bullet into the goal from more than 10 meters out to put Italy up two goals with 35 seconds left.
From there, Montenegro had no choice but to just let the clock run out after missing their next shot attempt. Italy came away with the win 12-10 for the bronze medal.
Italy grabbed a two goal lead at the start of the game, but both teams battled from there, with neither side going up by more than a goal until the end of the third when the Italian side led 9-7.
Montenegro cut into the lead at the start of the fourth, but Italy’s Christian Presciutti played spoiler, scoring twice from long range within a minute to go back up three.
The Montenegrin’s again cut the lead to one, and had a chance to tie it with a minute remaining when Aleksander Radovic’s shot from outside was saved by Italy’s Stefano Tempesti.
It was the next possession that Aicardi caught a pass in the center of the pool and threw it into the goal with ease.
The goal was Aicardi’s first of the match. Presciutti led all Italians with four goals on nine shot attempts. Valentino Gallo added three on four attempts. Italy shot 50 percent from the field in the match.
Tempesti had 10 saves in goal, blocking six of eight shot attempts from beyond five meters.
Mladan Janovic led Montenegro with three goals. Scepanovic and Zdravko Radic had just three combined saves in goal on 15 attempts their way.
The bronze medal is the second straight medal for the Italians in the Olympics. Italy won silver in London four years ago.
Montenegro, a country that has only played in three Olympics as its own nation, has now finished fourth in all three Games.
Other games:
7th place game – Spain 9, Brazil 8
After starting the Rio Games 3-0, Brazil’s men’s water polo stumbled to the finish, coming in eighth place overall after a 9-8 loss to Spain in the seventh place game.
The low scoring affair featured four ties, including an 8-8 tie with 1:26 remaining after a goal by Brazil’s Gustavo Guimaraes.
Just fifteen seconds later Spain retook the lead, and this time for good on a center shot goal by Balasz Somogyi.
Brazil turned the ball over on their final two possessions.
Somogyi, Marc Alferez and Roger Compte led Spain with two goals each. Goalkeeper Inaki Vicente had 12 saves in goal.
Brazil finishes in eighth in their first Olympics since 1984. Spain finishes seventh after a sixth place finish four years ago.