Poland’s #1 club team, Belchatow, beat the defending champs of the Champions League, Trentino Betclic of Italy, in a one sided match: 3-0.
To WATCH the FULL MATCH, click HERE!
The Belchatow Boys:
(images from various sites via google search)
Match Report From CEV.LU:
Skra BELCHATOW (POL) vs. TRENTINO BetClic (ITA) 3:0 (31-29, 25-18, 25-22)
PGE Skra BELCHATOW defeated tonight two-time champion TRENTINO BetClic 3:0 at the Atlas Arena and remains the only unbeaten team in Pool D. Moreover, the Polish champion stretched its impressive series of 6 straight wins by 3:0 while for the Italian vice champion this was the first defeat of the season. The match started with a series of perfect attacks by Matey Kaziyski and Jan Stokr which resulted in the provisional 4:8, but the Polish champion managed to hold the opponents under control with the blocks and powerful spikes of Mariusz Wlazly and Bartosz Kurek (they both scored total of 12 points in the very tight 1st set). PGE Skra saved two set points and finally closed the set with an attack of Wlazly. Nearly 11’000 enthusiastic Polish fans in the Atlas Arena nearly exploded with joy after Wlazly scored the last point. The Polish ‘fiesta’ continued in the second set, which started with a 4:0 minibreak, thanks to Michal Winiarski – a former player of TRENTINO, who had won the Champions League with the Italian team in 2009. The Italian vice-champion managed to close the gap to 12:13 but it was the moment the home team started to play close to perfection. The score went to 20:13 and practically closed the set. Jan Stokr was the man who tried to battle for the win, as he killed 15 attack out of 24 in the 2 opening sets. But Winiarski was the real hero of the home team: “I am happy with the serve/reception, the attack, and the fact that we beat my previous team. I was happy in Trento – now I am very happy to defeat my colleagues” Winiarski said after the match.
TRENTINO dominated in the third set, leading from the beginning, thanks to an impressive Jan Stokr (who was the best scorer of the match with 19 points) and Matey Kaziyski but the finish belonged to PGE Skra. The fourth block of Marcin Mozdzonek, who managed to stop Kaziyski’s attack, ended this match. Kaziyski, who scored impressive 15 points, killing 12 out of 24 attacks, stated: “We came here prepared for a battle and it was a really tough match. We did our utmost but now have to accept the defeat and go ahead. The CEV Champions League has just started; it is only the beginning of the competition”. Bartosz Kurek, who totaled 15 points, was Skra’s best scorer: “I am happy with the win but I am trying to think forward. We have a hard game coming up in the national league on Saturday”.
TRENTINO’s coach Radostin Stoytchev stressed that his team had played poorly in counter-attacking: “We should do it better. Also the service was not as strong as usual. This match made the competition harder for us but I still believe this score will not influence the season”. PGE Skra’s coach Jacek Nawrocki tried to stop the local euphoria: “I agree that it is only the beginning. We cannot believe that we are undestroyable now. However, I am proud of my team. They managed to play at high level all the time, with no longer periods of poor play. I am happy they managed to keep the reception at a high rate of efficiency. It is extremely difficult versus a team that has such good servers”. This weas match nr 51 for BELCHATOW in the CEV Champions League and there is also some interesting statistics concerning the games against Italian teams: PGE Skra had won only twice (3:1 vs. MACERATA in 2006/2007 and 3:2 vs. Sisley TREVISO in the classification match of the 2008 final four).
The next occassion to play each other may be during the FIVB Club World Championships next December in Doha, Qatar, where both teams will represent Europe. PGE Skra and TRENTINO BetClic were drawn in different groups.