16/04/2016 21:00
TRENTINO rout arch-rivals Lube to join Zenit in quest for fourth CL crown
2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Krakow, Poland, April 16, 2016. After Zenit KAZAN had upset more than 12,000 fans in the semi-final with hosts Asseco Resovia RZESZOW, TRENTINO Diatec claimed the much anticipated derby with Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) to shape up a remake of the 2011 gold medal match with the Russian armada. Back then TRENTINO used the home-court advantage in Bolzano to edge the team from Tatarstan and claim their third straight title in Europe’s elite club competition. No matter what the result of the ‘grand finale’ will be on Sunday, Zenit or TRENTINO will set an all-time record by claiming their fourth Champions League crown in history.
Though Asseco Resovia had lost the first semi-final to Zenit KAZAN, a record-breaking crowd stayed on also for the Italian derby between TRENTINO Diatec and Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA. These teams were crossing their ways for the fourth time this season with TRENTINO boasting a 2-1 win-loss record resulting from two matches in the Italian national league and the semi-final of their national cup. TRENTINO did not start in the best way, trailing 0-4 and then 6-8 at the first technical time-out; however, living up to their status of real fighters, the players coached by Radostin Stoytchev fought back and levelled the score at 10-all. After that they were able to impose their game, edging ahead by three points at the second technical time-out (16-13) and extending their lead to six points by the time the set came to a close (25-19).
Though team captain Filippo Lanza was not included in their starting six, TRENTINO were able to keep the pace of their star-studded opponent also in the second set. Cucine Lube replaced Klemen Cebulj with Reid Priddy but even the addition of the 2008 Olympic champion could not prevent Italy’s reigning national champions from breaking away to a five-point lead at 13-8. Most of the credit for this extremely solid performance was to be acknowledged to TRENTINO’s opposite Mitar Tzourits and to their young setter Simone Giannelli, who always found a way to surprise CIVITANOVA’s block by masterfully leading his team. Cucine Lube had travelled to Krakow extremely motivated to capitalise on the opportunity to play in the Final Four of Europe’s elite competition for the first time since 2009 and to stop their negative streak in the semis of the Italian league against Sir Safety Conad PERUGIA, but TRENTINO looked solid as a rock in the execution of their game plan, this resulting in another fairly commanding set win (25-20).
Cheered on by 150 fans and by their teammate Matey Kaziyski – who was not eligible to play in the Champions League as his return from Japan had come too late to apply for a European Cup license – TRENTINO continued their show also in the third set (8-3). The Italian derby has surprisingly turned into a one-sided affair (13-6) and the fate of this match seemed already written. TRENTINO did not look back and ended up claiming their 29th win out of 49 matches they have contested with CIVITANOVA and they did so in style – as they had done back in 2009 when these teams had crossed their ways in the semis of the Champions League. Seven years ago TRENTINO capitalised on their 3-0 win over MACERATA to lift their first Champions League trophy and their fans are certainly hoping the same will happen on Sunday when their heroes will be playing Zenit KAZAN for gold.
Tine Urnaut, outside spiker of TRENTINO Diatec: “We did not start in the best way and made a number of mistakes, but we rose to the occasion and played with a lot of focus, showing a lot of determination. I am overwhelmed with joy and extremely happy with this victory. We executed our game plan closely to perfection. Tomorrow Zenit KAZAN will be starting as the favourites, like Lube did today, but we are determined to make it through to the end and win the cup.”
Ivan Miljkovic, team captain of Cucine Lube: “I wish I could say that we presented our opponent with this victory, but they played much better than we did in all aspects of the game. We tried to fight as much as we could, but we found ourselves standing in front of a wall and we did not find a way to break through.”
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