11/01/2012 21:20
Iraklis claims home win to remain in contention for Playoffs spot
2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men
Thessaloniki, Greece, January 11, 2011. After scoring a 3:1 win tonight to edge CSKA SOFIA of Bulgaria (25-21, 25-19, 16-25, 25-21) Iraklis THESSALONIKI backed up its chances to advance to the Playoffs 12 of the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League, needing still one more victory next week in Belgium with Noliko MAASEIK to achieve this goal.
CSKA SOFIA started well (2:5) but Iraklis got the lead back (8:7, 11:9); an ace of Evgeni Ivanov turned the score around once again (12:13) but Iraklis restored its leadership by the second technical time-out (16:14) to finish it off at 25-21.
The home guys dictated the tempo also in set 2 (8:4, 11:7, 16:11) and even though the head coach of CSKA SOFIA, Aleksandar Popov, asked for a couple of time-outs, still Iraklis did not relent the course to go for the final 25-19.
Things changed a bit in set 3 as CSKA SOFIA set the pace (3:6, 9:12, 12:16) to claim that section of the game with the comfortable score of 16-25.
Three points scored by Andrej Kravarik helped Iraklis go to the front in the fourth set (10:7) before the home side widened the margin (14:9); CSKA SOFIA fought back to 15:14 but Iraklis got back momentum to finish it at 25-21 to the delight of some 2’500 fans. Cuban Rolando Despaigne – who debuted tonight in the Champions League – paced Iraklis with 23 points, well supported by Andrej Kravarik who scored 22 while Stefanov totaled 19 for CSKA SOFIA.
“We claimed a very important game and we now have the last match with Noliko MAASEIK next week. Our target was to remain in contention for a ticket to the Playoffs 12 until the very end and I want to congratulate my players for achieving this goal” says home coach Sotirios Drikos.
“We tried to deliver a good performance and we succeeded in doing this for some sections of the game. I hope we’ll claim at least one win next week while hosting Arkas IZMIR in Sofia” concludes the mentor of CSKA, Aleksandar Popov.
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