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Greek national polo team earns medal

The Greek men`s national water polo team, which narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at last year`s Summer Olympics in Athens, went a step further Saturday and achieved third place at the World Championships in Montreal with an 11-10 victory over Croatia. The Greeks` medal was their first in either the World Championships or the Olympics. In Saturday`s final, Serbia-Montenegro upset defending and Olympic champion Hungary, the sport`s most dominant traditional power, 8-7.

Croatia`s skipper Teo Dogas put his side ahead 10-9 with his fifth goal for the game. Greece`s Anastassios Schizas responded to tie the game at 10-all with 48 seconds left. With 11 seconds to go, Christos Afroudakis sent a no-look backhand pass to Giorgos Afroudakis, who scored past Croatian goalie Josip Pavic. Greece nudged out Croatia in overtime after equalizing seconds before the end of regular time. Long-serving captain Giorgos Afroudakis, who hinted, in post-match comments, that his career had now ended, put the ball into the upper left corner of the net with nine seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime at 9-all.

"I`ve dreamt of this since I was young," Giorgos Afroudakis said. "I wanted to end my career by scoring a goal that was so important in the match - that would win the match," he added.