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HUIZHOU, China, June 25 (Xinhua) -- United States came through another tough battle against Greece with sudden death penalty shootout 17-16 to book a place in the final against Serbia at the FINA Men's Water Polo World League Super Final here on Saturday.
The American team led most of the game before Angelos Vlaschopoulos stormed one shot to give Greece lead 10-9 for the first time while Luca Cupido added one goal for USA to tie 10-10 later in the third quarter.
Both teams were highly defensive in the last quarter as Cupido found the net to 11-10 with 49 seconds left and Greek Captain Christos Afroudakis ended the game with a shot at 0.01 to tie 11-11. After both teams scored 5-5 in the shootout, it was American Captain Tony Azevedo sealed the victory by smashing a goal into the net in the sudden death penalty shootout.
"As a young team, we need to learn how to play and finish a close game within 10 seconds. We need to learn how to pass and receive the ball," said Dejan Udovicic, head coach of the American team.
In other games, Serbia beat Italy 7-4 to enter the final, Australia upset China 15-4, Japan edged Brazil 12-10.
The six-day FINA Men's Water Polo World League Super Final will come to an end on Sunday when Italy face Greece in the bronze medal battle, Japan play Australia for forth place and Brazil meet China in the game for seventh place. Enditem
