Pool leaders finish in style at the end of the League Round of the Golden #EuroLeagueM
Recap
With the teams participating in the Final Four of the Golden #EuroLeagueM already confirmed, the battles on the field this Sunday bring the opportunity to enjoy the last day of pool play in the 2021 edition of the competition.
Already qualified, Belgium, Estonia, Ukraine and Turkey can use these last matches to warm up for the final tournament that will take place on June 19-20 in Kortrijk (BEL).
Pool A
Final standings:
1. Estonia - 6 wins, 17 pts.
2. Belgium - 4 wins, 13 pts.
3. Spain - 2 wins, 6 pts.
4. Latvia - 0 wins, 0 pts.
Belgium finished in style the League Round of the Golden #EuroLeagueM. The hosts of the Final Four tournament outclassed Spain in three sets, and with a better performance in all the components, congratulated themselves with the victory after 86 minutes of play in the Liepaja Olympic Centre (LAT). In the final standings of the pool, Belgium are in second place with 4 wins and 13 points, while Spain finish their 2021 participation in the Golden #EuroLeagueM on third position with 2 wins and 6 points.
Liam Mc Cluskey“Today, it was a fun game and my teammates helped me a lot. We showed good play on defence in the first and the third set, while in the second we pushed on the serve. Tomas Rousseaux helped a lot."
Setter of Belgium
Spain were close to tying the score in the last set, losing several set points, but it was in these moments when the players around head coach Fernando Muñoz Benitez showed nerves of steel and grabbed the victory, finishing with 51% efficiency on the winning spikes in the match. Mathijs Desmet from Belgium finished as Top Scorer with 14 points to his name, while his teammate Jolan Cox added 11. For Spain, Alejandro Vigil recorded 12.
Angel Trinidad de Haro“It was a little bit harder than what we were expecting. We could have done much better."
Setter of Spain
Estonia didn't leave any doubts on who the best team in Pool A was as on the last day of play, they were able to seize a straight-sets victory over Latvia, who, on the other hand, finish their participation in the 2021 Golden #EuroLeagueM without a single win. The players coached by Cedric Enard outperformed the opponent, needing 71 minutes to close the game, and to top the charts in the final standings in Pool A having recorded 6 wins and 17 points to their name.
Renee Teppan“Today, it was a difficult game, the last game of the tournament. It’s been a long time since we started this journey and it’s becoming difficult physically as well as mentally. Now, we will have two days of the much needed rest and then we will be back to work, getting ready for the most important games.”
Player of Estonia
Renee Teppan led his teammates towards the victory, becoming Top Scorer with 14 points. Stefan Kaibald (12) and Märt Tammearu (11) helped a lot, too, and team Estonia finished with 52% efficiency on the winning spikes. Gustavs Freimanis and Edvīn Skrüders with some good performance in the middle of the first set, tried to help Latvia take the lead but Stefan Kaibald from Estonia reacted quickly in the decisive moments. Latvia were leading in the second set but let some errors affect the score, and Estonia seized the opportunity. Having lost the second set, Latvia couldn't find a proper response to the spikes and successful blocks of Estonia in the third set.
Romans Sauss‘’It was tough, the Estonians were serving really good. In the beginning, we could handle it. We couldn’t find our game on reception. We should also improve our performance from the service line.’’
Player of Latvia
Pool B
Final standings:
1. Ukraine - 4 wins, 12 pts.
2. Romania - 1 win, 4 pts.
3. Slovakia - 1 win, 2 pts.
Ukraine and Slovakia delivered an intense match in what was the last fixture in Pool B. After 114 minutes of play and having lost the first set, Ukraine emerged victorious at 3-1. Adding another 3 points to their records, the Ukrainian players finish in the group with a total of 4 wins and 12 points, and are already looking forward to the most important matches of the Golden #EuroLeagueM.
The players coached by Ugis Krastins made it difficult for Slovakia's reception, scoring as many as 9 aces in the match becoming this element the key to their success, given that on the winning spikes both teams showed equal skills (46% efficiency by Ukraine compared by 44% by Slovakia). Dmytro Viietskyi became man of the match for Ukraine, scoring 25 points (3 aces). The Slovak players Michal Petras and Filip Gavenda, with 16 and 15 points each, were causing the main problems in defence for team Ukraine.
Pool C
Final standings:
1. Turkey - 6 wins, 18 pts.
2. Belarus - 3 wins, 7 pts.
3. Czech Republic - 2 wins, 7 pts.
4. Portugal - 1 win, 4 pts.
The defending champions from Turkey finished in an excellent way their League Round campaign and will enter the Final Four battles in good spirits. On Sunday, they emerged victorious after a 3-1 victory over the Czech Republic.
Turkey could claim the victory thanks to the better performance on the serving line (seven aces in total which turned out to be the key to the success). Adis Lagumdzija who topped the charts once again (22 points) and Baturalp Burak Güngör with two aces each became the best players on this element.
Burak Güngör“We are very happy. Now, the hardest part comes - playing for the trophy. We know that the other teams also have the same goal. Injuries are part of the game, but we never let our guard down. We have a good team and the younger players have already demonstrated what they are capable of. We want to win the Golden League and as long as we have six players on the court, we will always fight for victory.”
Captain of Turkey
Turkey started better in the match, taking an early lead, with Adis Lagumdzija contributing with 6 points. The players around head coach Nedim Özbey were better also in the second set, working successfully on the block and with 6 kill blocks made the difference. Things changed in the third set with Czechia entering the court much more motivated. They responded with 6 kill blocks of their own and made it 2-1. Both teams went head to head in the next set. With the result being 14-14, the Turkish middle blocker Ahmet Tümer suffered an ankle injury and had to be replaced by Mustafa Cengiz. Burak Güngör made the difference with some good performance on the serve and team Turkey found their rhythm to close the match at 3-1.
Martin Kop“We couldn't maintain focus. At the beginning, we weren't effective in the reception and in the second set, the block-defence performance gave Turkey a clear advantage. We made some changes and improved our game but then we made some errors in attack and on serve. Congratulations to Turkey who were the best team throughout the competition having managed to maintain the quality of their game.”
Assistant coach, Czech Republic
In the last match of the day, Belarus and Portugal delivered a thrilling five-setter full of many turnarounds and a constant change of the lead. Belarus rose like a phoenix after being down two sets, and pushed hard on the attack in the nail-biting following 3 sets.
Viktar Beksha“We wanted to win this match, because it was the last one. We made many errors in the beginning, and Portugal did very well on the serve. Then, we got more relaxed and we started creating fast combinations in attack. Portugal played well, and winning against a strong opponent adds an extra value.”
Head coach of Belarus
It worked out just fine as they finished with 69 successful spikes compared to the 56 by Portugal. The team of Viktar Beksha was better also on the block (10 compared by 5 by Portugal). The hosts of the tournament in Santo Tirso, Portugal outclassed their opponent with a better performance from the serving line (7 aces compared to 4 by Belarus). A key element in the game for Belarus was the better performance on tbe block in the third set, when they were able to record 4 successful actions, compared to 0 by Portugal. Uladzislau Davyskiba from Belarus topped the charts with 26 points, becoming also Best Attacker of the match. For Portugal, Marco Evan Ferreira contributed the most with 21 points to his name.
Hugo Silva“I think we say goodbye from Santo Tirso, with the image that we wanted to leave in the first part of our preparation, which included the EuroVolley qualifiers and the European Golden League. An image based on the strength of the collective, of always fighting until the end. Now, we will continue to work and prepare for the EuroVolley Finals, where we want to continue to becoming better, and hopefully, the hard work will pay off.”
Head coach of Portugal