In front of home crowds in Eurosuole Forum, Lube outclassed in three sets the Slovenian OK Merkur MARIBOR, who are yet to record a victory in the group.
Entering the match with the goal of keeping the first position in Pool C, the Italian squad showed domination on the court throughout the whole match, with only the third set being a tight one.
Blengini could not count on the entire roster: the injured players Osmany Juantorena and Jiri Kovar (both Italian Olympians, recovering from injuries) were missing, but in their absence, their teammates showed great spirit and worked as a well-oiled machine. Ivan Zaytsev, Robertlandy Simon and the libero Fabio Balaso started on the bench, replaced by the opposite to Puerto Rico Gabi Garcia, the middle blocker Enrico Diamantini and Andrea Marchisio.
This win is a very important one for Lube ahead of their next two important fixtures in Pool C – against the Russian Lokomotiv Novosibirsk and the Polish Grupa Azoty KODZIERZYN-KOZLE.
– Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA played like a well-oiled machine in the first two sets outclassing MARIBOR in all aspects of the game. Marlon Yant and Ricardo Lucarelli set the tone of the game with their powerful spikes: six points with 71% efficiency in attack for the young Cuba’s National team player in the first set, and four points with 100% in attack and one ace for the Brazilian wing spiker in second set.
– OK Merkur MARIBOR tried bringing back the intrigue in the game in the thirds set, starting a point-for-point race, showing more balanced game. However, the better performance towards the end of the part was crucial for the home side, who emerged victorious eventually.
– Gabi Garcia (Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA) topped the charts for his team with 16 points and Marlon Yant (11 points) became MVP of the match. For the guest team, the outside hitter Roland Gergye scored the most, recording 8 points.
“I’m very happy both about our approach to the game and for the final win. This confirms our first position in the Pool now. We still have two games – for sure, they will be the tough ones, so we must remain focused, because in the end, maybe the small details will make the difference when it comes to the qualification to quarterfinals”.
MARLON YANT
Player of Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA)
“Every game, every point, is a big step towards qualification to the next round, and for the tournament in general. This win tonight is like a booster of confidence for us, for our next two games, and we hope to go and win them. We are meeting next our strongest opponents in the Pool, but we also have a lot of talent. This is my first season in Italy, it’s quite different from the USA. It was hard for me in the beginning, but with the help of my teammates, the transition was smooth.”
Gabri Garcia
Player of Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA
