20/01/2020 16:41
Nova KBM Branik and ACH Volley crowned Slovenian Cup winners
News from the National Federations
Kamnik/Ljubljana, Slovenia, January 20, 2020. Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR and ACH Volley LJUBLJANA are the winners of the 29th edition of the Slovenian Cup. The spectators in a crowded Kamnik arena witnessed a high-level Volleyball show, especially in a thrilling women’s final and in dramatic men’s semi-final and final matches.
The last act of the women’s competition brought an eternal derby between last year’s winners Calcit Volley KAMNIK - who eliminated SIP ŠEMPETER in the semi-finals - and Slovenian reigning national champions Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR - who prevailed against Luka KOPER to secure their spot in the grand finale.
On the next day, the girls from Maribor celebrated a hard-fought 3-2 (17-15 in the tiebreaker) win in front of more than 700 spectators in Kamnik. Nova KBM Branik’s Anita Sobočan (MVP of the tournament) topped the match scorers on a total of 21 points, while Olivera Brulec Kostić of the home team managed to put 28 points to her name. “The exciting final match was just what Slovenian Volleyball needs. For us, the worst moment was when Lorena Lorber Fijok suffered an injury. It happened just when we were really close to winning the fourth set and the match. We had to stay focused for the fifth set, where we took some risks with our line-up and we were lucky,” Nova KBM Branik coach Radovan Gačič was happy after such an important win.
Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR celebrate their triumph in the women's competition
Titleholders ACH Volley LJUBLJANA overpowered Hiša na kolesih Triglav KRANJ in the first semi-final match of the men’s competition, while OK Merkur MARIBOR upset the home crowd by eliminating the heavy favourites Calcit Volley KAMNIK after five thrilling sets. Rok Možič scored 29 points and Alan Košenina, who is usually playing as libero, added 19 to the count of MARIBOR.
In the men’s final match, Božidar Vučićević and Jan Pokeršnik (MVP of the tournament) top scored for ACH Volley with 22 and 14, respectively, while Možič's 17 and Košenina's 11 points were this time not enough for causing yet another surprise. After MARIBOR won the first set and took a 22-11 lead in the second set, the reigning Slovenian champions raised the level of their serving and attacking actions for a 3-1 victory and their third cup title in a row. “Merkur MARIBOR once again proved to be a tough opponent and they deserved to win the first set but the rest of the match went according to our expectations. We fulfilled our goal and the title is here,” the coach of ACH Volley LJUBLJANA Matija Pleško commented.
Nova KBM Branik claimed their 18th Cup trophy, whilst ACH Volley won the title for the 12th time in their history.
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