Székesfehérvár, Hungary, May 6, 2014. 26 years after the last Alba Regia Gala was held in Hungary, the tradition was renewed with a four-team tournament held on the eve of the 1st Round of qualifications for the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Men.
The first Alba Regia Gala took place back in 1979. The tournament continued its successful existence in Székesfehérvár for ten years and saw participation from the Cuban, South Korean, Spanish, Bulgarian, Austrian and Yugoslav national teams. Some world-class players, such as Laszlo Buzek, György Demeter and Csaba Borcsok have taken part in the Gala.
In preparation of the upcoming qualifications, the national teams of Romania, Sweden, Israel and Hungary gathered to test out against each other for re-inauguration of the Alba Regia Gala. The Romanian team emerged as the winner of the tournament. Sweden, Israel and Hungary followed in the final standings.
Danut Pasco, Romania: "We spent three fantastic days in Hungary. I think this tournament is included in the top eight in Europe. Exciting games, good teams, perfect welcome from the organizers… We are going home happy also because we won this Gala."
Johan Isacsson, Sweden: "First of all, I would like to thank the organizers. The tournament is fantastic, the city is amazing, the service is perfect and the organization is professional. I am very happy that we won the first match. We played well, but the tournament is all about preparation and development. We look forward to the next challenge."
Zohar Bar Netzer, Israel: "I am so happy that we got invited by the Hungarian Volleyball Federation to attend this very important milestone in the preparation phase."
György Demeter, Hungary: "The tournament serves very well our preparations for the upcoming European Championship qualifications. Our game has improved day by day and we played very close matches in this tournament."
Click here for more information on the upcoming 1st Round of qualifications for the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Men.