The battle between Finland and North Macedonia opened the rivalry in the CEV Volleyball European European Silver League - Men in Budapest. Finland prevailed and proved better on block (14-7), but the player who made a difference was a 23-year-old Aaro Nikula, who was an ace drawn out of coach Joel Banks' sleeve. On Sunday, Finland will play in the gold medal match, once North Macedonia will battle for bronze.

Runners-up of the 2021 Silver League, North Macedonia opened the match with more confidence, quickly taking a lead 8-5 and improving it to 13-9. Once they thought that the situation is under control, Finland woke up, making block their main asset (5 winning blocks). The team under the guidance of the coach Joel Banks not only caught up the score (14-14), but stepped up front, being led by Jiri Hanninen (8 points) and Joonas Jokala (7 points, including 3 block stuffs) who closed the set.

North Macedonia quickly shook it off, they learnt their lesson from the first set and after taking an early lead they didn't let Finland to come closer than two points. Although they struggled in reception (24%), this time block became North Macedonia's weapon (4 points in this skill). Captain Nikola Gjorgiev and Luka Kostikj were the most prominent players, delivering their team 6 and 5 points, respectively.

The third set delivered another unexpected twist. After a very competitive beginning, Finland jumped to a 16-10 lead. Even if Gjorgiev scored as many as nine points, his teammates were not able to step in, once Finland played flawlessly. Aaro Nikula, who came as a substitute in the previous set, in the 3rd part, became the best scorer of Finland (8 points), recording 100% of success in attack - 6 out of 6 - he also added one block and one ace to his name. Joel Banks' team didn't look back and took a 2-1 lead in the match.

Being only a step from a spot in the final, Finland was motivated to complete their mission in the fourth set. They reached the maximum advantage of seven points at 15-8 and although North Macedonia tried to shorten the distance, the Finnish team sealed the victory 25-16 after Nikula's spike.

23-year-old Nikula became the best scorer of Finland with 17 points to his name and 94% success in attack (15 kills). However, the top scorer of the match honour went to Nikola Gjorgiev, who tallied 23 points.