Strumica 47 & 72 and Rabotnicki Skopje claim Macedonian Cup titles
News
The players of Strumica 47 & 72 and Rabotnicki Skopje have a very good reason to celebrate, as these two teams emerged victorious from the 29th edition of the Macedonian Volleyball Cup at the end of the three-day final tournament held this past weekend at ‘Jasmin’ hall in Kavadarci. The Volleyball Federation of North Macedonia this year decided to organise the event in a city where there is no Volleyball team in an effort to promote the sport further across the Balkan country.
Zoran Karanovic“Our idea was to organise the event at the very same level as we do it for a national team competition. In the city of Kavadarci, Volleyball was the number one sport for the past three days. Although sometimes the questions asked were of an elementary level, for example how many points are played in one set, with the help of our media partner Macedonian Radio and Television, I think we achieved the goal."
Secretary General of the Volleyball Federation of North Macedonia
There is no doubt that Strumica 47 & 72 and Rabotnicki Skopje achieved their first goal of the current season. The current Macedonian champions defended last year’s title and added a 16th trophy to their showcase, thus confirming their dominance in Macedonian men’s Volleyball for the past decade. The team from city of Strumica thumped Vardar 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-17) in the final, after securing a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-12) shutout of Shkendija in the semis in a duel featuring the top two teams from the national league. The internationals Zlobin, Ben Taleb and Meirelles and Macedonian national team players Milev, Eftim Richliev, Kostadin Richliev and Nakov did not find an equal rival in the final tournament. They are the hottest candidates to win the national league title as well.
“We confirmed that we are the best Macedonian team. I am satisfied because we achieved two convincing victories. It was not easy because we had a little pressure to justify the pre-favourite role, but we had the quality to withstand all challenges,” commented the coach of Strumica 47 & 72, Kiril Richliev who has been at the helm of the team in winning all of their 16 domestic trophies since 2012, including eight from the Macedonian Cup. The next goal for the Strumica players is to win the national championship. In the semis, they will play against the team of the University of Tetovo, which lost to Vardar in five sets in the national cup.
In the women’s final, Rabotnicki Skopje beat last year’s winners Janta volley Kisela Voda 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23) and repeated the success of 2019 when they seized a double domestic crown. The women’s tournament brought together the best four teams from the Championship, and the draw decided that the semi-final pairs in Kavadarci would be identical to those from the First League. On Saturday, Rabotnicki Skopje defeated Strumica 3-1 (12-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-17), and the reigning champions Janta volley Kisela Voda eliminated Nakovski volley in four sets too (25-21, 16-25, 25-18, 25-23). However, in their sixth cup final in the club’s history, Janta volley failed to lift the trophy for a second straight year. Stojanova, Batalakovska, Lazarova, Pavlovska, Popjordanovska, Jonuzi, and Djurdjevic brought the third trophy to Rabotnicki Skopje’s showcase.
Dusko Despotovski“It was really difficult to play two matches with strong opponents in 24 hours, but we succeeded. We had a proper plan, we stuck to it, and even when things did not go well, we were psychologically stable and we succeeded. I am overjoyed for this success of the club."
Head coach of Rabotnicki Skopje
The season will continue with the race for the championship title, before the men’s national team embark on their quest to secure the CEV European Silver League crown for the first time in history.