SADA CRUZEIRO BOUNCE BACK WITH SWEEP OF SARMAYEH BANK – Asian Volleyball Confederation

December 2017
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Opole, Poland, December 13, 2017 – Defending champions Sada Cruzeiro of Contagem bounced back from their opening day shock to shut out Sarmayeh Bank 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-22) here on Wednesday and stay alive in the race for a ticket to the semi-finals of the 2017 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship – though the Asian champions gave the South Americans a run for their money.

The result assures Italian champions Cucine Lube Civitanova a ticket to the semi-finals of the competition, with hosts ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle and Sada Cruzeiro to battle it out between them for the second qualifying spot from Pool A in Opole.

While Sada Cruzeiro coach Marcelo Mendez finished the game without a single substitution, Iranian coach Mostafa Karkhaneh brought on a few of his subs in the second set to try and turn the tide.

Yoandy Leal led the Brazilian side with his 20 points, with Evandro Guerra adding another 15 to get Sada Cruzeiro back on track.

Marcelo Mendez, Sada Cruzeiro Coach: “I am very happy we won the match, and also very happy that we improved our play. We played well, our

attack was very good, our centre was the best. I wish the best of luck for Sarmaye in your league.”

Filipe Ferraz, Sada Cruzeiro Captain: “I am so happy today, because we won. For us it was very important, as yesterday we played terribly, and I

think the team played so well today, in service, passing, attack. We hope to continue tomorrow, which will be another final for us. I think that’s it. We’re prepared to confront all the teams. Thanks for the guys and the whole team. I hope for good luck for us and I wish good luck for everybody.”

Mostafa Karkhaneh, Sarmayeh Bank Coach: “This was the best experience for us. I think this group was so much more difficult than the other group – we had Sada, the defending champions, but also teams like Lube and ZAKSA. But still, this is the best experience for us to continue working

and playing next year. Sarmayeh Bank will also represent Iran in the Asian Club Championship. But first let me congratulate Sada’s coach and the whole team – you deserved it, you were better in attack, and also our key player was injured before today’s match. He’s one of our best players, and we actually didn’t have any chance to go into semifinals and finals, but the experience we gained from this tournament will help us the next time we come here.”

Lukasz Zygadlo, Sarmayeh Bank Polish setter: “Unfortunately we lost 3-0. Yesterday, it was a tough game for us. We were so close to winning. It was a very difficult night for all of us. Unfortunately, one our key players couldn’t play today. Congratulations for Sada. What can I say about our team – I feel that we don’t have enough contact, as an Asian team, with European or world teams. It was very difficult to play against players from teams like Sada. It was a very nice tournament to play in, and I hope this experience will be useful for the future.”

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