With the end of the League Round of the Golden #EuroLeagueM getting closer, all eyes are on the matches played in Pool A, Pool B and Pool C.
On Friday, the defending champions from Turkey booked their ticket for the Final Four of the competition after seizing another 3-0 win, this time vs Belarus in a re-match of the 2019 Final.
In Pool B, Ukraine outclassed Romania at 3-1, and also secured a spot at the final tournament that will take place on June 19-20 in Kortrijk (BEL).
Turkey and Ukraine join hosts Belgium, which means that there is only one ticket left, but who will grab it, will be decided in the remainder of the matches that will take place during the weekend.
Pool C
Czechia took a sweet revenge on Portugal for the 2-3 loss at the beginning of the League Round as they seized a straight-sets victory over the team coached by Hugo Silva. Jiri Novak’s players claimed the win in only 74 minutes, outclassing the opponents in all the components.
In the first set, it seemed that Portugal could put up some real fight but not taking it meant that Ivo Casas and his teammates entered the court in the next set struggling to find their game. With 17 winning spikes in the next set, Czechia dominated on attack. Nothing changed in the last set, and the inspired Czech players pushed even more on the block. Lukas Vasina and Michal Finger from the Czech Republic finished with 16 points each, Jan Galabov recorded 8. For Portugal, brothers Alexandre Ferreira and Marco Evan Ferreira scored 7 times each. After this victory, Czechia are third placed in the current standings, with one win and 4 points, while Portugal are last with one win and 3 points.
“We are very happy with today’s performance. We had some expectations about how the team would react in this match and the response the players gave could not have been any better. More important than the victory was that we played with our heart. I think that this game has greatly increased our team’s confidence for the next matches. Tomorrow is a new day and a different match, but if we start motivated and play like we did today, everything is possible.”
Jiri Novak
Head coach of Czech Republic
The defending Golden #EuroLeagueM champions from Turkey extended their winning streak to 4 victories out of 4 matches, and unbeaten, top the charts in the current standings in Pool C with 12 points. In a re-match of the 2019 final vs Belarus, the players coached by Nedim Özbey seized a straight-sets victory, showing smart play in decisive moments and taking advantage of Belarus’ unforced errors.
In the first match of the day in Desportivo Municipal de SANTO TIRSO, the Turkish players needed 84 minutes to claim the win, thanks to their main “weapons” – 11 blocks and 7 aces. Adis Lagumdzija didn’t disappoint his teammates, recording 19 points (4 aces), becoming top scorer and top server. Bedirhan Bülbül recorded 4 blocks for his team’s win.
“We are happy with the result and the performance. This was the fourth victory in a row for us and we are getting closer to our goal, which is qualifying for the Final Four. We are two matches away from being able to guarantee our presence in the next phase and so we want to win Saturday’s match against Portugal and Sunday’s fixture against the Czech Republic. We know we have to continue to play at this level to achieve our goals.”
Mert Karatop
Assistant coach of Turkey
