The Italian giants will play the Brazilians in the gold medal match of the Club World Championship
Perugia players pose after their third victory in India
Sir Sicoma Perugia continue to progress in their plan to defend the world title they won a year ago at the 2023 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship, in Bengaluru, India.
The Italian giants triumphed in the all-European semifinal against Türkiye’s Halkbank Spor Kulübü at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium on Saturday and will now face Brazil’s Itambé Minas for the title of the tournament on Sunday, at 20:30 local time (15:00 GMT).
Watch Men’s Club World Championship matches live on VBTV.
The current SuperLega Credem Banca leaders are trying to become just the third team to successfully defend their Men’s Club World Championship title, joining fellow Italians Itas Trentino (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) and Brazil’s Sada Cruzeiro Vôlei (2015, 2016).
In the semifinals, Perugia had another dominant performance in Bengaluru, winning their third straight match without dropping a set and topping Halkbank 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 31-29).
Polish outside hitter Kamil Semeniuk was the match’s stop scorer with 15 points (13 kills, one ace, one block). Cuban opposite Jesus Herrera also had a strong display, producing 13 points (11, two aces) for the Italians.
Team captain and opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz led Halkbank’s offense with nine points (seven kills, one ace, one block), followed by middle blocker Mert Mátic, who registered eight, all in kills.
In the second semifinal, Minas needed five sets to secure a dramatic 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 28-30, 25-20, 17-15) win over Japan’s Suntory Sunbirds. Cuban opposite Michael Sanchez led Minas with 27 points (26 kills, one block), while fellow opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy fired 23 (22 kills, one block) for the Asians.
Perugia and Minas played each other on Thursday, in Pool A, and the Italians prevailed in straight sets.
The first Turkish club to compete at the Men’s Club World Championships, Halkbank will face the Sunbirds on Sunday, at 17:00 local time (11:30 GMT), in the bronze medal match.
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