Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, June 13, 2018.  It was day one at the KV Arena as the reshaped Golden European League for Men reached its final stage.  The day started with a couple of close sets that went the way of Estonia, after which they dominated the third against Portugal to take their place in tomorrows final.  This was followed by the home team also winning in straight sets, downing Turkey in front of a crowd of 2000+ passionate fans.

Not only do the finalist teams have a shot for Gold, they shall also be eligible to enter the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup 2018, ironically alongside with Portugal who as hosts are already guaranteed a slot.

Estonia vs. Portugal 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-18)

• Portugal opened the match very well leading 6-2, but the Estonian team responded swiftly with the support of their enthusiastic fans, drawing level at 9-9. Both teams worked pretty well in block and the game remained a very close affair. Later on, Estonia used a few mistakes of their opponents to their advantage, thus taking the lead at 19-16. However, Portugal managed to tie again at 20-20. The end of the set was very close, but eventually Estonia won it 26-24.
• Both teams started the second set fully focused and it was a side-out game in the first half of the set. Portugal briefly enjoyed a two-point lead at 16-14, but the Estonian coach called a time-out which immediately helped his team earn three points in a row to reverse the score.  It was 22-20 for Estonia, then 22-22. Great spikes from Marco Evan Ferreira were not enough for Portugal to win this set. Estonia finished it with 26-24.

• Portugal opened the third well, taking a 4-1 lead, but thanks to great spikes from Oliver Venno supported with solid blocking, Estonia started to catch up and they finally tied the score at 11-11. One point later they were leading for the first time during this set. Few great spikes and blocks from the Estonian side made a big difference improving the score to 16-13. The fans witnessed a few spectacular spikes from Portugal, but again it was not enough and Estonia closed the match winning the third set 25-18.
• Oliver Venno of Estonia was the top scorer of the match with 15 points. On the other side of the net Marco Ferreira scored only one point less for Portugal.
  

Quotes:

Caique Oswaldo Ferreira da Silva, outside hitter of Portugal: “This game was difficult for us. We didn`t play on our highest level and that’s why the game became demanding for us. We need to focus on our heads and start to play like we used to do before.”

Kristo Kollo, outside hitter of Estonia: “For sure it was not an easy match. We felt the pressure during the entire game. The first two sets were really close and ended with the score of 26-24 - it shows that it could have finished either way, therefore I am happy that the game finished 3-0. It was a pretty tough fight on the court.”

Gheorghe Cretu, head coach of Estonia: “Portugal is a team with impressive players but we were really well prepared. I am very happy with the result and with how we played. Big congratulations to everyone and many thanks to our incredible Estonian fans.”

Turkey vs. Czech Republic 0-3 (22-25, 25-27, 20-25)

• Both teams entered the court very focused. From the very beginning it was a close affair, with neither team able to gain an advantage.  However, in the decisive part of the set the hosts managed to take a two point lead at 20-18, keeping the gap until the end, to finally close it 25-22. The opening set was dominated by a great performance from Michal Finger (CZE) who scored seven points of his own.
• The second set was very tight until 10-10, but then Turkey gained a three-point-advantage at 14-11. The hosts didn’t lose their motivation and fought for every ball.  They caught up at 14-14 and another close race unfolded. Turkey got the first set ball at 24-23, but after a few phenomenal rallies the Czech Republic side managed to win this set 27-25.
• History usually repeats itself, but thanks to a few good spikes and impressive blocks the hosts took an advantage of four points (11-7) in the early stages of the third set. Turkey fought back to minimise their gap to one point at 11-12. The Czech team felt then a positive pressure and started to rebuild their advantage (15-12 and 20-16), having the first match ball at 24-19. Turkey managed to claim one more point and after that the match was ended by a serve mistake.
• The top scorer of the match was Michal Finger with 14 points. The best player of Turkey was Vahit Emre Savas (13 points).

Quotes:

Michal Finger, opposite of Czech Republic: “We won 3-0 and it is very important. We didn’t expect it, because Turkey were the favourites. They surprised us with not such aggressive play as we expected. We played good Volleyball and they started to make mistakes and argue with each other. That is what we knew - if we can put them under pressure, we can play with them.”

Michal Nekola, coach of Czech Republic: “We are satisfied, because we won 3-0. I think that the second set was the most important one. We knew Turkey is a very difficult team, but we were well prepared - we had a good defence today and the team played well together.”

Baturalp Burak Güngör, outside hitter of Turkey: “Czech Republic played a very well-organised game and they are the home team - what is also important. In my opinion we didn’t show our best volleyball, but I have to admit that they played very well. I can only congratulate them. We will do our best tomorrow.”