11/03/2015 21:01
Zenit KAZAN claim Final Four ticket, Halkbank ANKARA left upset after terrific battle
2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Ankara, Turkey, March 11, 2015. After upsetting last year’s gold medal winners Belogorie BELGOROD in the Playoffs 12, Turkey’s Halkbank ANKARA could not accomplish yet another mission impossible and despite scoring a 3:2 home win (25-23, 17-25, 25-18, 23-25, 16-14) in the second leg of the Playoffs 6 had to bid farewell to the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men with Russia’s Zenit KAZAN eventually securing their fifth straight appearance in the last round of Europe’s elite competition.
A large crowd of 4,500 fans came together on Wednesday night at Baskent Volleyball Hall in Turkey’s capital for the last match before the Final Four tournament scheduled for March 28-29 in Berlin, Germany. Halkbank had to storm back after suffering a 0-3 loss last week in Russia and things did not start in the right way for the hosts. Zenit KAZAN opened with 4:1 and 8:5 leads that were powered by the terrific serves of their superstar Maxim Mikhailov (pictured). After trailing by 8:14, the home side finally found their way into the game and ended up drawing level at 15 all. The home heroes continued to play with perseverance and resilience and eventually claimed the opening set by 25-23 at the end of a very close run.
The game remained very tight also in the early stages of the second set but again Zenit KAZAN were off to a flying start and set the pace of the game at both technical time-outs (6:8, 11:16). The Russians showed their class also in defence and this way it became very difficult for Halkbank to score. Zenit’s lead reached its maximum at 14:22 and the set ended in a landslide 17-25 win for the visitors from Tatarstan.
The course of the game changed once more in the third set where Emre Batur propelled an 8:3 lead for the home side while standing behind the service line. Halkbank continued to keep control of the game also later on (13:7) with their team captain and setter Ulas Kiyak well mastering the game and well supported by the defence actions of libero Nuri Sahin. Halkbank got up by three points at the second technical time-out and they did not let their opponents any chance to attempt a late comeback cruising to a 25-18 that kept alive their chances of making the Final Four.
The fourth set proved to be the decisive one. Both teams played with a lot of attention trying to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Zenit got up by the slimmest margin at the first technical time-out before Halkbank claimed a three-point lead at the second contributed by Michal Kubiak and Tsvetan Sokolov. However, a few errors by the hosts – in serving and defence – helped Zenit draw the score at 19 all. The teams completed their side-out up to 22:22 but in the end KAZAN showed nerves of steel and with the final 23-25 they sealed their ticket to Berlin, venue of this year’s Final Four tournament.
The last set was played in a very strange atmosphere as the dreams of the home heroes had been shattered earlier on. Still Halkbank showed their determination to finish their campaign on a high note edging past Zenit at 16-14 to bid farewell to Europe’s elite competition with a home victory.
“My team really wanted to go to Berlin and make the Final Four,” said Halkbank’s team manager Ahmet Kavaz. “Unfortunately we could not achieve our goal. We are very sad and upset at the moment. My players did their best tonight. We lost the ticket to the Finals but we got a lot of experience from this match. We are still a young team in this competition. We have showed very good performances for the last two, three seasons in the European Cups and we are happy with that. I want to thank once more all of our supporters and can promise that we will be doing better next year.”
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