Hungary pushed the U.S. men's water polo team farther down the Group A standings with an 11-8 win on Saturday.
The Americans traded goals with the traditional powerhouse in the first half and led 4-3 with 1:44 left before halftime on a goal by Ben Hallock. Hungary answered with two goals in the next 70 seconds for a 5-4 halftime lead, then scored the only three goals of the third quarter to take firm control.
With 3:08 to play, the U.S. pulled within two goals and had a shot to cut the lead to one, but Hungary defended well and restored the lead to three. Alex Bowen scored with 32 seconds left to cut the lead to 10-8, but Hungary kept the ball and scored a garbage-time goal with one second left for the final margin.
The U.S. (2-2) is still virtually assured of a quarterfinal berth with one game to go in group play but would need other results to fall their way to move higher than fourth.
Spain cements Group B lead
SPAIN 16, AUSTRALIA 5 (STATS)
Spain remained unbeaten through four games, gaining a 2-1 lead thanks to a first-quarter goal by Blai Mallarach and never looking back. Australia (1-3) remains alive heading into a final group-stage game with winless Kazakhstan.
MONTENEGRO 19, KAZAKHSTAN 12 (STATS)
Eight players from Montenegro contributed goals, including four each from Drasko Brguljan, Miroslav Perkovic and Alexsandr Ivovic, as Montenegro evened its record at 2-2 and enhanced its shot at a quarterfinal berth.
SERBIA vs. CROATIA (STATS)
The Balkan rivals are playing to move into second place in the group.
Group A rivals eye shot to pull away from U.S.
Greece and Italy, each with two wins and a draw through three games, play winless teams later on Saturday and can surpass Hungary (3-1) atop the group and leave the U.S. with no chance of moving up the table. Italy will play Japan, which has made things difficult for opponents, while Greece will play South Africa, which hasn't.
