Pinheiros claim SCAHC Women's Club Championship title

Just one week after the triumph of HC Taubaté in the men’s tournament, fellow Brazilian side EC Pinheiros from São Paulo became winners of the South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) Women's Club Championship.

Ten teams from five South American nations – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay – took part in the event, which was held at Estadio Mundialista Villa Ballester in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 30 May and 5 June.

The participants were divided into two groups of five teams, and after a competition in a round-robin format, the two best teams from each group progressed to the semi-final, while the other teams went on to play placement matches.

Clubs from Brazil and Argentina were dominant in the group stage, and four teams from these two countries completed the line-up of the semi-finals. And there, the Brazilian sides showed their superiority, as Pinheiros comfortably beat River Plate 30:19, while Clube Portugues were too strong for Ferro Carril Oeste, winning 32:24.

The all-Brazilian final was very tight and low-scoring, but Pinheiros had the upper hand and cruised to their sixth straight victory in the competition, 19:17. In an Argentine derby in the third-place match, River Plate defeated Ferro 23:18 to win bronze. 

It was the second edition of the SCAHC Women's Club Championship, and it saw an increase of participants compared to 2019, when six teams competed in a round-robin tournament. While Brazil's UnC Concordia and UNIP São Bernardo had taken the top two positions four years ago, other clubs from the same country came to the fore now.

Final ranking

1. EC Pinheiros (BRA)
2. Clube Português (BRA)
3. River Plate (ARG)
4. Ferro Carril Oeste (ARG) 
5. Cerro Porteño (PAR)
6. BBC Layva (URU)
7. CID Moreno (ARG)
8. Ovalle Balonmano (CHI)
9. Scuola Italiana di Montevideo (URU)
10. Club Italiano BM (CHI)

Photos: SCAHC / German Fabian Paez