01/11/2018 12:16
Eczacibasi claim ‘Clash of the Titans’ with VakifBank to seize Spor Toto Champions Cup
News from the clubs
Ankara, Turkey, November 1, 2018. On Wednesday, Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL defeated city rivals VakifBank 3-1 to win the Spor Toto Champions Cup in the first major showdown of the 2018-2019 domestic season.
It was a close match, as everyone expected it would be, at Ankara Başkent Voleyball Arena with several spine-tingling rallies to elevate the game, but at the end, Eczacibasi VitrA were the ones to emerge victorious. As a result, they claimed the Spor Toto Champions Cup (formerly known as Champions Cup) after seizing that very same title in 2011 and 2012.
VakifBank won the first set 25-20 before the ‘Tigers’ of Eczacibasi responded to take the second 25-22. Tijana Bošković and team captain Jordan Larson were pivotal towards 25-17 and 25-19 wins for Eczacibasi in the following sets to seal a 3-1 victory.
Turkish Volleyball Federation President Mehmet Akif Üstündağ presented the Spor Toto Champions Cup trophy to Jordan Larson who received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award as well.
Eczacibasi VitrA and VakifBank are among the favourites for top honours in the 2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League. Eczacibasi won Europe’s most prestigious club competition in 2015 while VakifBank have four titles (2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018) to their name. They both will know the names of their opponents in the pool phase later this week in Budapest.
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