The final day of competition at the 2017 IHF Super Globe began with the first victory for debutants Naft-O-Gas-Gachsaran, who defeated Sydney Uni Handball Club by three goals to rank seventh. Esporte Clube Pinheiros also won their placement match by three goals, as they beat Esperance Sportive de Tunisie 32:29 and therefore finished fifth for the second time.

5/6 Placement match: Esporte Clube Pinheiros (BRA) vs Esperance Sportive de Tunisie (TUN) 32:29 (15:17)

In their second IHF Super Globe campaign, Esporte Clube Pinheiros repeated their result of fifth recorded in 2011. The Pan American team beat Esperance Sportive de Tunisie after a close battle decided in the last five minutes, showing the value of persistence as they trailed through the first half before turning the tide in their favour to finish with their second win at the 2017 Super Globe. 

ES Tunis opened the game stronger, creating a 4:0 advantage before Diogo Hubner added the first goal for EC Pinheiros in the seventh minute. EC Pinheiros’ slow start meant a difficult first 30 minutes, as they worked hard to close the gap. The Brazilian team came within one goal once, at 11:12 in the 24th minute, but ES Tunis finished the half stronger to hold a two-goal lead at the break. 

Five minutes into the second half, ES Tunis’ key back Oussama Boughanmi received a direct red card for hitting goalkeeper Marcos Santos in the face on a penalty shot, after which two consecutive goals from Pinheiros equalised the game at 19:19. 

The African team reclaimed the advantage and held it for some minutes before EC Pinheiros came back to level again – finally creating the decisive difference in the 50th with Julian Souto Cueto’s third goal. From that point, the Pan American team increased the distance. 

With Pinheiros in front 31:27 and just under four minutes on the clock, ES Tunis pushed their defence to a more offensive system while the Brazilian squad used an additional attacker in place of goalkeeper Marcos Santos. But when Rudolph Hackbarth was the next to score, opening a five-goal lead for Pinheiros, the match was decided. 

"Once we couldn't make the semi-finals, we decided our aim was to rank fifth. We were really strong on Saturday [versus Sydney Uni] and also today against Esperance de Tunis, a very tough team," said EC Pinheiros' Diogo Hubner following the win. "We came here very well prepared. I'm very happy to help in guiding a team full of young players. The future of Pinheiros is guaranteed. We're happy for this fifth place."