PAOK make history by reaching #CEVCupW 8th Finals
News
As they are making their first appearance in the European Cups, AC PAOK THESSALONIKI have sensationally reached the 8th Finals of the #CEVCupW. They did so in a truly dramatic way, as they came back from two sets down to beat Asterix Avo BEVEREN of Belgium at the tiebreak (16-25, 14-25, 25-16, 25-18, 16-14).
Stamatia Kyparissi“It is a historic day for PAOK. I am glad that I am part of this history. We deserved to advance to the next round. We wanted it so badly and we did it. We hope to continue like that. Our goal is to get better and better every day. We want to go as far as we can in this competition.”
Player of PAOK
Juliette Fidon, player of PAOK: “The first two sets were terrible but we made a great team effort and we came back. It is good to know that we are able to turn around games as we did tonight. We will try to do our best in the next round. Every game is a bonus for us. We have played two games at PAOK Sports Arena this far and we have two wins and it feels good.”
Kris Vansnick, head coach of Asterix: “Despite the loss, I am proud of our performance today. The Greek team did not expect that they would have to fight like that for the victory. We fought bravely with very young players on the court. It is a pity that we did not win in the end, but I am proud of my team.”
Dimitrios Floros“Today we made history and we can be proud of our performance. We totally deserved to advance to the next round and I am glad that my girls made it happen by showing passion and quality in their game. Congratulations to them! I would also like to congratulate Asterix and their staff and players. We will try our best in the next round. We will fight for more glory.”
Head coach of PAOK
Even though they claimed a 3-2 victory on home soil, Olympiacos PIRAEUS could not make up for their heavy loss from the away match held last week in Portugal. The hosts secured a promising 2-1 lead in the match, but they lost the all-important fourth set, meaning that AJM FC PORTO would progress to the next round. With Carlo Parisi at the helm of the team for the first time, Olympiacos showed signs of improvement – but they eventually failed to reach the 8th Finals, so they will now focus solely on domestic competitions for the remainder of the season.
Carlo Parisi“A win is always good, but unfortunately we did not qualify to the next round. I have to know my team and understand how my players perform when they are under pressure. Today was a good opportunity to learn something. We had two good sets. The fourth set was complicated for us. Sometimes we played good, but at stages not so good. Congratulations to Porto, they are a good team. Overall, I can say that I am satisfied with my team, but I think we have a lot of room for improvement.”
Head coach of Olympiacos
Styliani Christodoulou, setter of Olympiacos: “We played with our backs against the wall, and we had a very difficult task from the beginning. It is important that the team played better than we did in the previous games. We all know that we played some bad games, but from there on, a very good coach came in, and he is a man who will change a lot in the team. I believe that with good work and the guidance of our coach, this team will be able to play at a high level. Certainly, we have a very difficult task ahead in the championship. We failed to reach the next round of the CEV Cup, but we have to focus on Greek competitions, to present a better side of us and we want to claim a victory in every match, in every derby. That is why we have been working so hard since the beginning of the season.”
Joana Resende, player of AJM FC PORTO: “It was a very hard game, we did not start well, but we remained focussed on what we said before the game. It was very hard for us but we finally made it. We are very happy that we have qualified to the next round.”
Carlos Carreno, head coach of AJM FC PORTO: “Of course, it is an excellent result for us, especially thinking of the level of Olympiacos. Olympiacos is a big club and we played extremely well here and excellent in Portugal. Today was a different game, but we did it, because we were strong.”