Istanbul, Turkey, February 13, 2014.  ISTANBUL BBSK earned a ticket to the semifinals of the 2014 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Men.  Despite losing to Belgium’s Euphony ASSE-LENNIK in the first leg of their quarterfinal clash by 2:3 last week, in today’s return game, the Turkish side crushed its opponent in straight sets – 3:0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-18), and moved on in the competition to play Andreoli LATINA in the semis.

ISTANBUL made a great performance in this crucial game and did not allow Euphony to win a single set.  They controlled the scoreboard pretty much throughout the first and the third sets.  In the second set, however, the Turks had to come from behind as they were down by as many as 5 points at 2-7.  The equilibrium was restored at 10-10, but later on the home team once again found itself lagging behind at 17-20.  Still, with the support of the home crowd, the ISTANBUL players showed what they are capable of and persevered to turn things around for 25-23.

Latvian opposite Gundars Celitans was the top scorer of the match as he contributed 19 points to the victory.  Euphony’s best scorers were Edson Lemos Felicissimo Junior and Robin Overbeeke with 12 points each.