Red Star stun Mladost to progress to #CEVChallengeCupM 8th Finals

Judging by how the first game had ended back in December, fans were to expect a very close and even matchup between Crvena Zvezda BEOGRAD and Mladost ZAGREB in the 16th Finals of the men’s Challenge Cup.

And as expected, the return match began with a real showdown, with both teams making it clear that victory was the only acceptable result and the game was played point for point. The first half of the first set was spent in a change of lead and a seesaw of scores, until at 14-14 Crvena Zvezda came out with great serves and did not allow the guests to get any closer until the end of the second half of the game (25-22).

The beginning of the second set brought a repeat of the first, as the teams fought for every point and no one allowed the opponent to get away. The suspense continued until the middle of the set when the hosts, with great serves from Ahmed Omar, once again created a series of points and an advantage that they only increased to lead 2-0 in sets (25-18).

In the third set, the guests started off much more seriously and it seemed that they were hoping to turn the result around. The guests increased their advantage until point no. 14, when a new series from Crvena Zvezda began, accounting for an unstoppable surge and Mladost’s advantage quickly melted away. Crvena Zvezda turned the game around at the very end of the set (25-23) and convincingly earned a place in the 8th Finals of the Challenge Cup, where one of the European giants, Italy’s Allianz MILANO, will be waiting.

The most efficient player in the Red Star team was Alija Bekrić with 18 points, followed by Milan Krstić with 12, while Ahmed Omar and Andrej Rudić scored 11 points each. On Mladost side, Teo Mirčetić made 12 points while Spyridon Chandrinos followed him closely with 11.