Luxembourg, June 12, 2019. Turkey and the Netherlands will join the hosting team Estonia at the Golden European League Men Final Four. With five victories Turkey proved unbeaten in Pool A, confirming the qualification with a 3-1 victory against Belgium. Although leading the Pool B by only two points, The Netherlands have already outplayed Spain and Croatia by the number of matches won, taking their spot in the final phase of the competition. Pool C is yet to reveal its winner on the weekend, having Belarus and Ukraine racing with 12 and 10 points respectively - with Belarus having four wins to their name and Ukraine three.

Pool A 

Slovakia vs. Latvia 1-3 (22-25, 15-25, 25-16, 21-25)

•    Slovakia lost their third consecutive match in the Golden European League, including a second home game. Latvia claimed a third 3-1 victory in a row.
•    Latvia scored eight aces to one of Slovakia, and seven stuff blocks to five of the Slovakian team. 
•    Latvia is currently second in Pool A with three victories and 10 points, Slovakia is third with one win and three points.
•    Deniss Petrovs (LAT) and Tomáš Kriško (SVK) were selected as best players of the match.

Andrej Kravárik, coach of Slovakia: “We started very badly and Latvia were better in every element of the game. We were unable to push our opponent from the service line, our block was very weak. We did not play our game.”

Toms Švans, captain of Latvia: “Our team fought well and it paid off. We made a lot of mistakes in the first game in Riga, but today we played much better. We have a young team and finishing in second place in this group is a good result for us.”

Turkey vs. Belgium 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16)

•   Turkey qualified to the Final Four of the Golden European League after defeating Belgium in four sets. 
•   Turkey remain unbeaten in Pool A with five victories.
•   Best scorer of the game was Burutay Subasi, who scored 16 points for Turkey.

Nedim Özbey, head coach of Turkey: “First of all, congratulations to my team. I am very happy that we made it to the Final Four of the European Golden League once again. Our goal is to win the European League! I would also like to thank everyone who supported us today.”
 
Arslan Eksi, captain of Turkey: “I am really proud of what we have achieved so far with this team. We have made a lot of progress and the energy in the squad is amazing. We gave it all we got and we did it. I am sure this result will make us come back stronger.”

Pool B 

Spain vs. Croatia 1-3 (19-25, 25-23, 28-30, 20-25)

•    Alicante was the perfect host for the Red Lynxes. As many as 1,510 fans supported the Spanish team in the Mediterranean city, 20 years after their last match there.
•    Croatia showed a great blocking game during the whole match, especially in the first set, one of the keys to their success.
•    Spain reacted in the second set with a great performance of libero Daniel Ruiz Posadas, and the quick spikes of Miguel Angel Fornés.
•    A thrilling end of the third set paved the way for Croatia’s success. Two Spanish mistakes sealed a 30-28 win for the visitors.
•    Emanuele Zanini asked his team to show more focus on the game and his team complied, delivering a very solid performance across the whole board.
•    Marko Sedlacek and Filip Sestan led the way for Croatia with 16 points. Andres Jesus Villena, Fornés and Juan Manuel González were the top scorers for Spain with 13 points each.

Miguel Ángel Fornés, player of Spain: “The key was in the reception. They had a good reception, their setter did a good job, and they played better in digs. We did not have enough patience to end the rallies, and this was the key of the match.”

Tsimafei Zhukouski, player of Croatia: “First of all, I want to congratulate Spain on a great match in front of a great audience. It was a very hard match, and I am very happy with the performance of my team. We wanted to prove that we could play better than we did before, and we did it.”

The Netherlands vs. Estonia 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-17)

•    Thijs ter Horst, who signed a contract with the Italian club from Ravenna today, became the top scorer of the match with 18 points.
•    Once the result of the match between Spain and Croatia was confirmed, The Netherlands officially qualified to the Final Four of the European Golden League.
•    The Netherlands and Estonia will meet again in Pool D of the CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men. A large number of Estonian fans already bought tickets for this match, which will be played in Amsterdam on September 17.

Thijs ter Horst, top scorer for The Netherlands: “We pushed the Estonian team from start to finish. It was a great win for us to keep them under 20 points in every set. It’s a great thing that we have qualified for the Final Four with our new coach and a few new guys in the starting seven. It was our goal, but it’s never easy. To do this one match before the end of the group stage is a great result for the team.”
 
Roberto Piazza, coach of The Netherlands: “Reaching the Final Four is the first step and it was our first goal this season. We earned this position on the court today. We played four matches with a tie-break and this was the first 3-0. We pushed the opponent from the beginning until the end. We never gave up on balls and we never made a stupid mistake. I think this is the way for us to go.”

Pool C 

Finland vs. Belarus 0-3 (22-25, 23-25, 20-25)

•    Belarus claimed their fourth win in the Golden League, beating Finland and taking the lead in Pool C.
•    Finland put up a good fight in the first two sets, but did not succeed to win either of them. Finland has won only two sets in their last five matches.
•    In the third set Belarus scored six blocks, which made the difference between the teams.
•    Belarus captain Siarhei Busel scored 13 points while the best scorer of the Finnish team, opposite Joonas Jokela, registered 16.

Joel Banks, head coach of Finland: “We had some good opportunities in the match, but we didn’t score well enough. We still have a lot of hard work to do. Our opposite players Joonas Jokela and Samuli Kaislasalo are very talented young players. Now Joonas made a really good job.” 

Viktar Beksha, head coach of Belarus: “I am glad that we won this match. We knew that Finland had no victories so far and that they would want to win at home. We did not start well. Our attacks were not good enough at the beginning. We did not expect such a hard serve and very, very good defence from Finland.”

Ukraine vs. Czech Republic 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-13)

•    A 3-0 victory for Ukraine made amends for their 2-3 loss in Brno earlier this season and keeps them in contention for a spot in the Final Four.
•    Ian Iereshchenko caused many problems to the Czech receivers as Dmytro Viietskyi and Yurii Semeniuk stood out with their blocks.
•    Michal Finger desperately tried to change the course of the game for the Czechs but he achieved his goal only at times. Ukraine’s attackers were just unstoppable.  
•    Iereshchenko and Viietskyi top scored for Ukraine with 16 and 15 points, as Finger registered 14 for the Czechs in their losing effort.

Ugis Krastins, head coach of the Ukrainian national team: “Today, the players pleased me with their excellent concentration throughout the entire match and the precise execution of my instructions, especially in attack.  We continue to fight for a spot in the Final Four.”

Michal Nekola, head coach of the Czech Republic: “Unfortunately, we could not cope with the main scorers of Ukraine. They scored many easy points. As a result, I am not satisfied with the defence of my team. Congratulations to our rivals on a well-deserved victory!”

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