Luxembourg, May 30, 2018.  Turkey delivered a 3-0 shutout of Slovenia at home to open the fourth leg of 2018 CEV Volleyball Golden European League – Men. This was their fourth win in four matches since the start of the competition. Estonia are also on a 4-0 win-loss record after winning in straight sets at Sweden. The Netherlands took revenge from Ukraine for the 2-3 loss at home last week with a 3-2 away victory on Wednesday. In the remaining Pool C, two five-setters were played, with Portugal and Finland emerging with the victories.


POOL A

Slovakia vs. Belgium 0-3 (23-25, 18-25, 17-25)

•    Slovakia already lost their chance to qualify for the Final Four in Karlovy Vary.
•    It was the first match for Sam Deroo (captain of Belgium) in this year’s edition of the European League.
•    Tomas Krisko and Sam Deroo were awarded as the best players of the match. Deroo was the best scorer of the match with 17 points and Krisko was the best scorer of Slovakia with 12 points.



Andrej Kravarik, coach of Slovakia: "Belgium showed today, that they are a strong European team and they are well-deserved participant of the World Championship. Belgium served well and that was the key of their victory. My team fought, we have many young players and we have to be patient. We want to thank our fans for such a great atmosphere."

Tomas Krisko, player of Slovakia: "Belgium changed their defence in comparison to the last match. We had problems in reception and attack. Their service was really good. I hoped that we would come back like we did in Belgium, when we came from two sets behind, but unfortunately it did not happen today."

Sam Deroo, captain of Belgium: "I think we were better today than Slovakia in all ways. The home fans made a great atmosphere. To be honest, I am disappointed, that we do not play in the Volleyball Nations League where - in my opinion - we belong, but this is life and we used the European League to test some new players before the World Championship, where we can play as good as we played at the European Championship last year."

Andrea Anastasi, coach of Belgium: "Before the start of the European League we had just four practices, so I am very happy we are able to play like this. We are still getting to know each other, I am discovering strong and weak points of every player. For me the European League is perfect in that point, that we have 20 days full of playing and before the World Championship I - as a coach - cannot want nothing more, just play as many games as possible."

Sweden vs. Estonia 0-3 (17-25, 17-25, 20-25)

•    It was a close race in the first minutes of the opening set, but the Estonians were more stable, maybe being inspired by the great victory achieved by the Estonian Women’s team earlier on Wednesday vs. the same opponent in the 2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League (3-2).
•    Estonia kept on storming it out there in the second part as well, leading 8-0. The players headed by Gheorghe Cretu kept on scoring (17-8) and deservedly closed the set in their favour.
•    The visitors didn’t have any problems in the third set either and thanks to winning it, claimed a fast 3-0 win.
•    The Estonian coach Gheorghe Cretu could celebrate twice – once because of the victory, and secondly because this was his 100th game as a national team head coach.
•    The Estonian ‘Man of the match’ Robert Täht led his team towards the victory by putting 14 points to his name and consistent play during the match.
•    ‘The young-gun’ of Sweden - Jacob Link performed on his best level, but couldn’t help his team for a different end of this matchup.



Viktor Lindberg, player of Sweden: "This is a tough loss for us. Estonia played really solid, while at the same, time we did not show our best game at all. Our reception worked out fine, but when it came to attacking, we were simply not 'there' today."

Robert Täht, player of Estonia: "Every victory that we can record is a nice one, of course. Tonight we were prepared in a whole new way compared to the last time we faced Sweden. They played very good against us back home in Rakvere, but today we were better tactically prepared. We got off to a good start in every single set and that, of course, made things a lot easier for us."


POOL B

Turkey vs. Slovenia 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-19)

•    Turkey are still unbeaten in Pool B in the CEV Golden European League (4-0).
•    Baturalp Burak Güngör (TUR) was the best scorer of the match. He finished the game with 16 points. On the other side of the net, Jernej Detela (SLO) claimed 12 points.
•    2,500 spectators came to the Mustafa Dagistanli Sport Hall in Samsun to watch the match between Turkey and Slovenia.
•    Before the match Turkey’s U21 Men & Womens Hearing Impairment Teams gave flowers to both team captains.



Nedim Ozbey, coach of Turkey: “We have a great win against Slovenia with the score of 3-0 and we are still unbeaten in the CEV Golden European League. With this victory we are very close to reaching the Final Four. I would like to congratulate all players and staff. Thank you to our fans who have supported us today in Samsun.”

Yasin Aydin, player of Turkey: “I am happy to win today. I congratulate my teammates. We played again in front of a great audience, thank you to all fans. We still have two more games to reach the Final Four.“

Ukraine vs. Netherlands 2-3 (25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 25-23, 10-15)

•    The players coached by Ugis Krastins failed to achieve yet another miracle, i.e. claiming their second straight victory in as many matches with the Netherlands, since this time they lost 2-3 in Ivano-Frankivsk after celebrating an away win last Saturday in Apeldoorn.
•    Ukraine controlled the game in the first set as well as for most of the second one, but the course of the match changed dramatically when Dutch star player Nimir Abdel-Aziz rose to the occasion. He eventually top scored in the match with 26 points.
•    Ukraine, however, got back on track in the fourth set with the help of Oleh Plotnytskiy and Vasyl Tupchii, and the hosts eventually called for a tiebreak – courtesy of the good performance delivered by Yurii Semeniuk as well.



•    Ukraine trailed 7-9 in the fifth set and two more consecutive points scored by the Netherlands were too much to recover from for the hosts, and the visitors eventually celebrated a 3-2 win.
•    Because of this loss, it is very unlikely that Ukraine will finish first in their group where Turkey have a perfect record of four wins in as many matches. Ukraine, on the other hand, have won two and lost two.  
•    Oleh Plotnytskyi top scored for Ukraine with 21 points.

POOL C

Czech Republic vs. Portugal 2-3 (25-19, 25-19, 27-29, 21-25, 13-15)

•    The first set was very balanced but the Czechs were really great in attack at the end and thanks to it they won the set.
•    In the second set the Czechs took the lead from the beginning and won again by 25-19.
•    In the third set the Czechs had two match points, but failed to convert and lost.
•    The Portuguese were getting better in their game and they deservedly won another set.
•    The visitors changed the state of play and won the match against the bottom-placed team in the pool.
•    Michal Finger of the Czech Republic and Alexandre Ferreira of Portugal were the best scorers of the match with 26 and 24 points, respectively.



Jakub Janouch, captain of Czech Republic: "We started very well, but after leading 2-0 we lost our concentration and slowed down. We have to work on it. In the fourth set we lost our tempo and we trailed in the tie-break from the beginning."

Alexandre Ferreira, captain of Portugal: "It was a wild match. The local arena was very hot. It was very hard for us and so we did not start well. After two sets we got better in reception. We limited our mistakes and we used the Czechs’ mistakes to our advantage. I’m really happy for our win today."

Finland vs. Spain 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-11)

•    Both teams showed great skills and fighting spirit in a five-set thriller full of fast rallies. Finland improved their win-loss record to 3-1 to keep the top position in Pool C.
•    Spain started better, but then Finland got back on their feet and established their rhythm of play. With the set unfolding the players coached by Fernando Muñoz Benitez brought back the intrigue (19-19). However, the Finns showed better nerves and took the first set.
•    The second set was also marked by intense play and a constant change of the lead. However, this time Spain’s players had the upper hand at 25-22.

•    It was the third set when the fans saw a team leading from start to end – it was Finland who emerged victorious and were one step closer to collecting three points.
•    On the other hand, Spain did not give up and started fast in the fourth set. They were inspired and better in the decisive moments, which helped them level the match.
•    Finland were better in the tiebreak, but Spain were breathing down their necks, but this was not enough and Finland eventually congratulated themselves with a 3-2 victory.
•    Finland’s opposite Samuli Kaislasalo was the best scorer of the match with 21 points, 19 spikes and two ace serves.
•    Miguel Fornes from Spain recorded 16 points to top the charts for his team.
•    There were 1,768 spectators attending the match in Turku.



Tuomas Sammelvuo, head coach of Finland: "I think we are pretty similar teams with Spain. Not so physical teams. I am happy that we improved compared to our last game. In the fifth set we made some easy mistakes, but we could keep our concentration. I think we have to improve in managing some situations, when we are leading. We are still searching for the stability in our game. I am really happy for the guys."

Fernando Muñoz Benitez, coach of Spain: "I think it was a difficult match for both teams - keeping almost the same level during the whole match is not always an easy task to do. We have to learn to play with more efficiency in the important balls. We made some unforced errors in the fifth set, which helped Finland to win. This is a very nice sports hall and everything here in Turku went very well."


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