Izmir, Turkey, December 21, 2011. After winning last week in Greece, Arkas IZMIR defeated once again Iraklis THESSALONIKI also at “Halkapinar” sports hall 3:1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-14, 29-27) to take the provisional leadership of Pool A in the prelims of the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men to the delight of more than 2’000 home fans.
The opening set was incredibly tense with Iraklis eventually having the upper hand at 25-27. Brazilian Joao Paulo Bravo sealed the second set for the home side of Arkas with the score of 25-22. Iraklis slowed down in set 3 and the home guys delivered a strong performance there for a massive 25-14. The fourth set kept the fans on their feet as it ended only after many turnarounds, with Iraklis failing to stretch the game to the tie-break (29-27).
“We caught a good start tonight and put Arkas under pressure” says the head coach of Iraklis, Sotirios Drikos. “We were also close to call for the tie-break but Arkas has many good back-up players and they took advantage of this” he adds. “Iraklis showed great resistance tonight and we made many mistakes at the beginning of the match. I was expecting a great game from Iraklis and they did so. We are happy with this win as our goal remains to advance to the next round of the competition” stresses home mentor Glenn Hoag.