CV MELILLA fight hard to edge Fonte Bastardo AZORES in Iberian derby

In an Iberian derby, Spain’s CV MELILLA claimed a very important 3-1 victory (25-20, 22-25, 25-19, 26-24) over Fonte Bastardo AZORES of Portugal as these two teams battle for a spot in the 8th Finals of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Men. 

The start of the match was a close affair up to the score of 10-10. After that, CV MELILLA broke away to lead 17-13, but the Portuguese side did not surrender that easily. One of the players who made the difference for CV MELILLA was their libero Daniel Ruiz Posadas. CV MELILLA knew how to rise to the occasion in the most heated moments of the match, thereby ending the opening set in their favour at 25-20. 

However, the joy of the home team did not last too long, since from the first serve of the second set it was clear that the Portuguese team came out with more speed – which resulted in a 13-8 lead for the visitors. At this stage, CV MELILLA head coach Salim Abdelkader asked for a timeout. This did not have the desired effect, since the team from Melilla could not get any closer and their small mistakes were always taken advantage of by their rival. CV MELILLA got to 19-22 after being seven points behind but despite the high level of their performance, they eventually lost the second set by 22-25. 

The third set started as a close fight. Neither of the two teams were able to get a good lead. The first to do so was the Melilla team with a 9-7 in their favour but the Portuguese team was not going to make things easy for the locals as they quickly tied the score again. However, the first mistakes made by the Azores team did help CV MELILLA take the lead again (17-13) - much to the delight of the local fans. From this moment on, the hosts put the cruise speed and ultimately sealed a comfortable 25-19 set win. 

The fourth set followed the same script as the previous ones, as it started in a very even manner until the score reached 6-6, where the visiting team took a two-point lead. The Portuguese managed to get away to lead 14-10 and the CV MELILLA coaching staff had to stop the match. Despite lagging behind, the home side always believed in their chances, and they responded to level the score at 16-16. They trailed again (19-21) in the final stages of the set, but the most worrying thing was Caio Oliveira’s injury. The Melilla team overcame all adversities to get back into the match, managing to make it to 23-23 and eventually earn a hard-fought victory (26-24).