THE EFFECT OF BALL POSSESSION TIME AND THE NUMBER OF PASSES ON SCORING DURING THE WATER POLO MEN'S FINAL OF THE 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES

The current case study aimed to examine whether the two competing teams in the men's Water polo final of the 2020 Olympic Games differed in the ball possession time (BPT) and the number of passes (NOP) in two distinct attacking conditions. The final match was analyzed twice for the winning and losing team separately, culminating in a sample of 78 offences when teams played in “even” and 24 in “the extra player” condition. In the “even”, both national teams accomplished more of their attacks with an “average” NOP (4-6 passes), while the Greek squad completed more of the attacks with an “average” (11-20 sec) and the Serbian team with a long BPT (21-30 sec). In the extra player condition, both teams, similar to the “even” condition, played most of the attacks with an “average” NOP (4-6 passes). In terms of the BPT, most of the Greek offences were completed with 11-15 sec and 16-20 sec possession time. For the Serbian squad, attacks with a long possession time (16-20 sec) were noted. However, no statistically significant differences between Greece and Serbia were shown for the mean values of NOP and BPT in the even (NOP 4.87 ± 1.92 vs 5.03 ± 2.36 passes; BPT 18.87 ± 5.69 vs 20.89 ± 6.21 sec) and extra player condition (NOP 5.94 ± 1.98 vs 5.75 ± 1.75 passes; BPT 13.62 ± 4.56 vs 15 ± 2.67 sec), respectively (p = 0.05). In conclusion, those two factors probably did not affect the game’s result. However, recognizing these tendencies could motivate coaches to apply this information to construct specific workouts during routine practices and when making match decisions.