Luxembourg, January 12, 2006. Panathinaikos ATHENS, the Greek favourite in the men’s Austrian Airlines Top Teams Cup, escaped defeat in the quarterfinal match against Polish PZU AZS OLSZTYN. The Greek formation won their home match 3:2, but whether this will suffice to reach the Final Four will be decided next week, when the return match in Poland is scheduled. In other quarterfinal action, Italian Copra PIACENZA, Spanish Portol Son Amar PALMA and Serbian Vojvodina Novolin NOVI SAD won their matches in straight sets.

The match between Panathinaikos ATHENS and PZU AZS OLSZTYN was the highlight of the first part in the men’s Austrian Airlines Top Teams Cup quarterfinal stage. The Greek team faced some problems at the beginning of the match, losing the second set. When the Greek formation captured the third set, it seemed as if they were on their way to victory, but the Poles didn’t give up. In the fifth set Greek Panathinaikos ATHENS finally secured a 15-9 victory.

Greek star Ernando Gomez was the best scorer of the match with 25 points, closely followed by his team mate Tontor Baev (24 points). On the Polish side, Piotr Gruska was the best player.

“I still believe that we have good chances of reaching the Final Four”, Panathinaikos ATHENS coach Javier Weber, former star from Argentina, said. “Our goal is to win the return match in Poland. Although this will be difficult, it is better than to start counting points. This will make us even more nervous.”

Portol Son Amar PALMA, Final Four participant in the CEV Cup last year, defeated Portuguese Benfica LISBOA in three straight sets. Winning the third set 25-15 was especially important for the team from the Spanish isle of Mallorca. French attacker Sebastian Ruette from PALMA was the best scorer with 12 points.

“I like this result, but we are not in the Final Four yet”, Spanish coach Marcelo Méndez said. “Winning the return match next week is important for us.”“We still have a chance but not so high”, Benfica LISBOA coach José Jarqim stated. “If we want to win the next match we must play much better than we did during this match.”

Italian Copra PIACENZA can almost book their ticket to the Final Four after winning 3:0 in Turkey against Halkbank ANKARA. Playing well in front of a home crowd should be enough for the Italian favourite in the men’s Austrian Airlines Top Teams Cup.

Serbia Montenegrin Vojvodina Novolin NOVI SAD is also close to the Final Four after nailing Rabotnicki Fersped SKOPJE from the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia 3:0. Branko Roljic was especially grateful for the home support, stating: "I cannot remember when we last had an atmosphere like this in Novi Sad!"

Action in the men’s Austrian Airlines Top Teams Cup continues next week, when the return matches of the quarterfinal stage are scheduled.

Men’s Austrian Airlines Top Teams Cup 2005/06
Results, Quarterfinals, Home matches

Men’s Austrian Airlines Top Teams Cup 2005/06
Match Schedule, Quarterfinals, Away matches (all times are local)