They will make great hosts!!!
Halkbank ANKARA and Rabita BAKU of Azerbaijan are the hosts of the men’s and women’s Final Four tournaments that next March will cap the 2014 edition of the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League. The venues of the Finals were announced on Thursday by CEV President André Meyer only a few minutes before the start of DOL for the Playoffs 12 of Europe’s elite club competition.
The magnificent Crystal Hall, the venue for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, will welcome the local heroines of Rabita BAKU and another three world-class teams for the women’s Final Four that is scheduled for March 15-16. The men’s Finals will then follow through March 22-23 in Ankara; the final act of the men’s competition will be taking place in Turkey for the very first time since the inception of the CEV Champions League in the 2000/2001 season. The venue will be the Baskent Volleyball Hall where many other top international events have taken place in the past years.
The winners of this year’s CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League will get the right to compete at the next edition of the FIVB Club World Championships scheduled for May 6-11, 2014.
The DOL for the Playoffs 12 was held under the supervision of Mrs. Riet Ooms, President of the European Cups Commission (ECC), starting with the women’s division.
Mrs. Ooms drew the 12 teams qualified to the knock-out phase making sure that – as per the Official Regulations – only two teams from the same country can make it to the Final Four tournament and also by avoiding that clubs from the same preliminary group will be playing each other in the Playoffs 12. The teams ranked first at the end of the League Round will play their second match at home.
The draw for the Playoffs 12 scheduled for January 14-16 (home matches) and 21-23 (away matches) reads as follows (teams listed first in the ties reported here below will play the first match at home):
Prosecco Doc-Imoco CONEGLIANO (ITA) vs. Omichka OMSK REGION (RUS)
Atom Trefl SOPOT (POL) vs. Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL (TUR)
RC CANNES (FRA) vs. Galatasaray Daikin ISTANBUL (TUR)
Igtisadchi BAKU (AZE) vs. VakifBank ISTANBUL (TUR)
Dinamo MOSCOW (RUS) vs. Dinamo KAZAN (RUS)
Volero ZÜRICH (SUI) vs. RebecchiNMeccanica PIACENZA (ITA)
The Playoffs 6 will then follow in early February (home matches: 4-6; away matches: 11-13) before three teams eventually join hosts Rabita BAKU for the Final Four tournament.
The draw for the men’s Playoffs 12 reads as follows (the schedule is the same as for the women’s competition and teams listed first in the ties reported here below will play the first match at home):
BERLIN Recycling Volleys (GER) vs. Zenit KAZAN (RUS)
Lube Banca Marche MACERATA (ITA) vs. Copra Elior PIACENZA (ITA)
TOURS VB (FRA) vs. JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (POL)
Asseco Resovia RZESZOW (POL) vs. Knack ROESELARE (BEL)
Noliko MAASEIK (BEL) vs. Diatec TRENTINO (ITA)
Budvanska Rivijera BUDVA (MNE) vs. Belogorie BELGOROD (RUS)
The Playoffs 6 scheduled for early February will determine the three teams that will join Halkbank ANKARA in the Final Four tournament coming up on March 22-23, 2014.
The DOL for the Challenge Round of the 2014 CEV Volleyball Cup slated for early February was also carried out on Thursday morning. The four teams qualified to the Challenge Round through the CEV Cup 1/4 finals will be known in January. The results read as follows:
Men
PARIS Volley (FRA) vs. Winner of Match 3-101/3-102
Winner of match 3-103/3-104 vs. Tomis CONSTANTA (ROU)
Winner of Match 3-105/3-106 vs. Olympiacos PIRAEUS (GRE)
VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (GER) vs. Winner of Match 3-107/3-108
Women
Agel PROSTEJOV (CZE) vs. Winner of the Match 3-401/3-402
Winner of the Match 3-403/3-404 vs. Azeryol BAKU (AZE)
Winner of the Match 3-405/3-406 vs. DRESDNER SC (GER)
Winner of the Match 3-407/3-408 vs. Dinamo Romprest BUCURESTI (ROU)
The semi-finals are scheduled for February 25/26-March 1-2 with the final stage of the competition following then from March 26 through 29.
