Konya, Turkey, July 11, 2017. Italy were crowned kings of Europe at the first ever CEV U17 Volleyball European Championship – Men as they dramatically beat Belgium 3-2 in the competition’s gold medal match at Konya Municipality Sports and Congress Center.

Gold medal match

Belgium vs. Italy 2-3 (17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 10-15)

It was a fitting final contested by two great teams that swung backwards and forwards before Italy sealed glory in the tiebreak. Belgium were beaten in a one-sided first set but hit back strongly to lead going into the fourth. However, Italy hit back and took an even set to take the final to a tiebreak. After that, the Italians had the momentum and there were wild scenes after the winning point.

Italy coach Bruno Morganti was understandably over the moon at his team’s achievement, especially given the lack of preparation time coming into the tournament.

“It's obviously a huge honour to have coached this team especially because the lads never let up despite the numerous difficulties we faced,” he said. “That was the case again today after we lost the third set despite at one stage having a big lead - the lads showed great heart and courage to bounce back.

“The secret is somewhat of a long process because this is the result of several years’ planning. We select a pool of players when they are 14 before they move onto the youth national teams and work their way up the ladder. So the credit should go to the whole staff and the pathway in general.

“For now we will enjoy being European champions but this team can go a long way because of its physical capabilities. We have some exciting tall prospects coming through and we all know that to be successful at international level you need a powerful side.”

On the opposite bench, Belgium coach Wim De Boeck was disappointed but was nevertheless proud of his players. He said: "I told the guys it's normal to be disappointed, but they played a great game and I'm more than satisfied with their progression. Now it's over but I'm sure during the night I'll think 'oh there was a chance'."

"We had a very difficult group with Russia, Italy and others but we were more than comfortable."

Bronze medal match

Bulgaria vs. Turkey 0-3 (14-25, 20-25, 24-26)

Turkey won the bronze medal after beating Bulgaria in straight sets. It was just the second defeat that Bulgaria had suffered in Konya, both against Turkey.

Turkey coach Hüseyin Düzceler was disappointed not to win gold but was happy to settle for bronze: “Our goal was to be the champion but we are happy to finish the tournament with a medal anyway,” he said. “We can play much better than this and my players are going to prove it in the future. I am proud of my players and staff.”

5th/6th play-off

Russia vs. Belarus 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-22)

Russia secured their spot as the fifth best team at the European Championship by overcoming fellow Pool II side Belarus in the second match of the day.

“It’s bad we didn’t finish in the top four,” he concluded. “But our pool was a lot stronger so we were up against it. There was a big difference between the groups. Every player now has international experience and now people know how to perform on this stage.”

7th/8th play-off

Serbia vs. Greece 2-3 (14-25, 12-25, 25-22, 25-15, 16-18)

Despite a spirited comeback by a slow-starting Serbia, Greece confirmed seventh place at the competition with a win in five sets. Serbia were not at the races early on and were quickly 2-0 behind but Ognjen Bulic’s side restored the deficit to take it into the tiebreak. However, despite a close final period, it was Stefanos Nanas and his staff that were celebrating at the end.

Nanas said: “For us seventh place is the best we could have done. The first two sets were easy and then Serbia reacted. We expected that. We leave Konya with a victory and that’s good for us. The target was to qualify for the second round. If you see the six above us, they are really good teams. It was a good experience for the players to see how other players and countries play Volleyball.”

Bulic was philosophical afterwards and said once illness set in, it was a struggle. “My players had flu yesterday and four new ones got it today,” he explained. “They spent the whole day in bed. We were sleepy in the first two sets and then woke up in the third. We had our game but with mistakes we gave the win to Greece. We would have liked to have finished fifth or sixth but we have to settle for eighth. I just wanted my players to play at their maximum and hopefully they learned something from this.”

Final standings

Gold Italy

12 Spain

Dream team

MVP: Kaan Gürbüz (TUR)