On the first day of competition in the 2021 Golden #EuroLeagueM, Czech Republic ended up short against the defending champions Turkey. Estonia and Belgium also congratulated themselves with important victories.
Turkey started on the right foot their 2021 campaign after outclassing at 3-1 the team of Czech Republic. On Friday, the players around head coach Nedim Özbey showed better motivation and on the road to retaining the 2019 title, seized an important victory vs the inspired team of Czechia. In a match that lasted 104 minutes, it was the better performance on the block (13) and on the serving line (11 aces) that helped the team of Turkey to emerge victorious.
“It was a very difficult game because Czech Republic are very strong. We are a young team, but we have a good group of players, and we play like a team. We have two more matches here, we are looking forward to them!”
Burak Güngör
Captain, Turkey
– Jan Hadrava from Czech Republic was sining hon attack, but the excellent play on the net by Murat Yenipazar and Bedirhan Bülbül with two blocks each became the key to the success in this part.
– Hadrava and his teammates stepped up their game and pushed hard on the attack and on the block in the second set. It was again him who took the responsibility and with a successful attack recorded a break point for 23-21.
– Turkey’s star, Adis Lagumdzija took things in his hands afterwards, performing well on the attack, topping the charts in these moments. With 16 winning spikes and five aces, Turkey got back on track.
– The 2019 champions stormed out in the beginning of the fourth set with four aces, and even though Czech Republic weren’t giving up, Turkey grabbed the victory
– Adis Lagumdzija became a top scorer with 25 points, while Jan Hadrava recorded 24 to his name.
“This is the first time that this team with this roster play an international match but we are happy to have shown our game and won. The opponents are very strong and this adds a greater value to the victory.”
Nedim Özbey
Head coach, Turkey
In Pool A, the young team of Estonia started in an excellent way seizing a 3-0 victory over Spain.
Eager to repeat their 2016 and 2018 success in the #EuroLeagueM when they triumphed with the title, Estonia seized a rather easy victory vs the Spanish team. The players around head coach Cédric Énard needed only 76 minutes to beat at 3-0 the team of Spain. Outclassing the opponents in all the components, the young Estonian players controlled the game during the whole match, with only the first set bringing intrigue with the teams breathing down each other’s necks.
“I was really excited to start with the team because last summer was a long one, without official matches. I think we deserved to win this match. The first set was really tough. But then I saw that we were able to put under pressure our opponent, showing good skills on the serving, and working well on block-defence. I am happy about our young players, they did a very good job.
Cédric Énard
Head coach of Estonia
– Spain started good on the block, immediately recording two successful actions on this element, but Estonia were better on attack. In the middle of the first set, Spain’s Jordi Ramon Ferragut suffered an ankle injury and had to leave the match.
– The players led by head coach Ricardo Maldonado seemed to have lost their rhythm and were struggling to organise successful attacks, finishing with eight winning spikes in the second set, compared to 17 by the team of Estonia.
– In the third set, the Estonian players speeded up on the block (5) and on the serving line (3 aces), becoming these elements the key to the success in the set.
– Renee Teppan finished as the best scorer with 17 to his name. His teammate Albert Hurt added 14. For Spain, it was Victor Rodríguez Pérez who was the best with 12 points.
– This was coach Énard’s first official match at the helm of Estonia’s team.
“The injury of Jordi was definitely one of the key points for us, he is an important player. This affected us a lot. Estonia were more powerful in attack and also aggressive on the service, they did a good job. The momentum was on the other side. We hope to improve our game the next match.”
Álvaro Rubio
Player of Spain
In the second match of the day in Pool A, Belgium delivered a comeback after losing the first set vs Latvia, and eventually became winner of the match seizing a 3-1 victory. The Red Dragons dominated on the net (4-11 successful point winning blocks of Latvia compared to Belgium) and after the wake-up call from the first set, managed to control the game in the decisive moments. Jolan Cox was shining for the winner’s team becoming best attacker as the overall performance of Belgium in this component was 54% efficiency on the winning spikes.
“We started bad and had to find our rhythm and could not put pressure on service. For many younger guys on our team, it was the first official game for the national team, so they were a little bit nervous and rusty. And Latvia took some risk in the service at the beginning. But I like how our young guys played and I enjoy being here to support them.”
Sam Deroo
Outside-hitter of Belgium
– Latvia started very well in the match with 18 winning spikes. Kristaps Šmits was top performing on the attack, and supported by his teammates, helped the most for his Latvia to open the match.
– Belgium reacted quickly and with nine winning spikes in the beginning of the second set, with Sam Deroo and Kobe Brems contributing the most in these moments, took control of the game. Jolan Cox also shined in decisive moments both on serve and on the spiking.
– The problems for the team led by head coach Avo Keel continued in the next set. Deroo and Cox continued on disturbing Latvia’s reception and with 59% efficiency on attack, the Red Dragons took the lead.
– Latvia stood better in the fourth set starting a cat-and-mouse game in the score with Belgium. Showing equal skill on this component, it was the stronger play on the net with another 4 blocks by Belgium, that became the key to the success.
– Belgium’s Deroo became top scorer with 20 points to his name, while Cox added 14 becoming best attacker. Lennert Van Elsen was the man of the match on the block, recording 6 and helping this way his team to emerge victorious.
“We made some bad decisions in the second and in the third sets. We had bad moments and the outside-hitters of Belgium showed their good level. But overall I´m not dissapointed – some of my players showed good Volleyball, they all worked hard. I am not sad and look forward to the next matches.”
Avo Keel
Head coach of Latvia
