Calcit KAMNIK make valiant effort against star-studded Eczacibasi
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Calcit KAMNIK could hardly imagine a more difficult opponent in the 8th Finals of the CEV Cup as Eczacibasi is one of the best European teams. The fact that Tijana Bošković, one of the best Volleyball players in the world, has been playing for them for several seasons speaks volumes about what kind of a team it is. The Turks justified the role of favourites, sealing a 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-17, 25-15), but Calcit also deserve all the praise for their brave, at times even high-quality play.
Gregor Rozman, head coach of Calcit KAMNIK: “There is no reason to be in a bad mood, but we have not outdone ourselves. We need to know that against such a team, it is already hard to win one set, let alone win. Eczacibasi is a top team with two outstanding players, Maja Ognjenović and Tijana Bošković and that was the biggest difference. However, I know that we have given our best, given the situation we are in; therefore, the girls deserve all the congratulations for the brave approach and there is no reason to be in a bad mood. For something more, we should be more effective in attack.”
Tijana Bošković, player of Eczacibasi Dynavit: “We were seriously preparing for the match, as we knew that Calcit has some very good players, some of them also played in Turkey, so we knew that things could get complicated, if we had not entered the match 100%. It is true that we won 3-0, but the match was far from easy, and I hope that there will be a similar result in Istanbul. I know that we are among the main candidates for winning the CEV Cup, but the road will be long and difficult. The main goal of the season is to win the Turkish league for the first time since 2012.”
PAOK THESSALONIKI of Greece had to accept a 1-3 loss at the hands of Romania’s CSM Volei Alba BLAJ in their first matchup scheduled for the 8th Finals. The two teams traded points in the first two sets, before the visitors delivered a truly impressive performance in the third one. The fourth set was very competitive until the very end (24-24), where BLAJ scored twice in a tow to seal a 3-1 victory.
Dimitrios Floros“Unfortunately, little details made the difference and we ended up losing some sets. We certainly could have made it to the tiebreak. We played with a very good team, which has been undefeated for a long time, but it is a great luck for PAOK to play such games. We move on, we have another game to play and anything can happen! Our goal in the next game is to deliver a good performance, to play freely and to do our best.”
Head coach of PAOK THESSALONIKI
Anna Kalantatze, player of PAOK: “We always give our soul. It was a tough game. We know which team we play with, we give our best and nothing is over yet! Now, we turn our attention to the second game. We will try to work on our mistakes and to do better in the next match.”
Stevan Ljubicic, head coach of CSM Volei Alba BLAJ: “Honestly, PAOK played much better than I expected, especially thanks to the atmosphere in the arena. The fans were amazing and we enjoyed being on the court. We came here to win the game, but we took three points as well, something better than what we expected. In six days, we have the second game and we will try to make it to the next round.”
Olga Strantzali“It was a tough game. Both teams played good Volleyball, and people could witness a real battle. Congratulations to PAOK – we are now waiting for them next week at our home! Our team has been doing well in Romania and in European competitions – and we are yet to lose a match this season. We work hard, we spend many hours on the court and victories are our reward.”
Player of CSM Volei Alba BLAJ