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Halkbank ANKARA - Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA

• Halkbank ANKARA and Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA face each other for the fifth time in the Champions League.
• The first meetings between these teams came in the Playoffs 6 in 2015/16. Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA beat Halkbank ANKARA 17-15 in the Golden Set (3-2 home, 2-3 away).
• These teams also met in last season's quarter-finals. This time Halkbank ANKARA beat Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA 15-12 in the Golden Set (3-1 home, 1-3 away).
• Prior to last season's elimination by Halkbank ANKARA, Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA were victorious in their three previous knockout ties against Turkish opponents in the Champions League: in 2008/09 against Fenerbahce ISTANBUL in the eighth finals and in 2015/16 versus Arkas IZMIR (Playoffs 12) and Halkbank ANKARA in the Playoffs 6.

Halkbank ANKARA

• Halkbank ANKARA reached the semi-finals in last season's Champions League when they were eliminated by JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (1-3 and 3-2).
• Halkbank ANKARA's best result in the Champions League is finishing runners-up to Belogorie BELGOROD in 2013/14 (1-3).
• Halkbank ANKARA allowed multiple sets in four of their last five Champions League matches, with the exception the second leg of their playoff tie against Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE (3-0).
• Nimir Abdel-Aziz scored 158 points in this season's CEV Champions League (fourth most, including qualification). Abdel-Aziz topped the scorer ranking in the 2020/21 Champions League (209 for TRENTINO Itas) and finished runner-up last season (195 for Halkbank ANKARA).
• Only Paolo Zonca (25 for Guaguas LAS PALMAS) and Seppe Rotty (20 for Knack ROESELARE) have hit more aces this Champions League season than Nimir Abdel-Aziz (19).

Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA

• Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA could reach the semi-finals for the first time since they won the trophy in 2018/19. They won all of their 11 matches in that campaign.
• The Italians had reached the semi-finals in four consecutive seasons from 2015/16 to 2018/19.
• Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA were eliminated in the quarter-finals in the past three seasons. In 2019/20 they had won their first quarter-final match against Knack ROESELARE before the campaign ended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA won five of their six group stage matches in this Champions League campaign in straight sets. The exception was a 2-3 defeat in Romania against C.S. Arcada GALATI on 9 January.
• Turkish player Adis Lagumdzija (104) is this season's leading Champions League scorer for Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA. Last season, Marlon Yant Herrera (141) and Ivan Zaytsev (121) were the team's leading scorers.
• Lagumdzija won last season's CEV Cup with Valsa Group MODENA. He was named MVP in the final against Knack ROESELARE.
• GIANLORENZO BLENGINI (coack of Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA): "For sure will be another very difficult game, which we will have to face at our best both mentally and tactically, and we will have to do it thinking that it is a dry game, so forgetting about the important result we won seven days ago in Turkey, but also about the ugly defeat that came on Sunday in the league".
• Adis Lagumdzija (Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA): "For me this is definitely a very special match, as my brother is on the opposing team. This is not the first time we have crossed paths as opponents in the European competitions, it also happened last year when I was in Modena and he was with Arkas Izmir. Always nice to meet him, as it is nice to come back to play in Ankara. We are going to face a very strong team with great players, starting with the foreigners, so Ngapeth, Nimir and Perrin. It will be a tough challenge but our only thought is about winning and passing the round, also to redeem the elimination in the previous edition by Halkbank."