Doha, Qatar, November 7, 2009 – Trentino BetClic of Italy and PGE Skra Belchatow of Poland qualified for the finals of the FIVB 2009 Men’s Club World Championship following their victories against Paykan of Iran 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) and Zenit Kazan of Russia 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-21, 26-24) respectively in the semifinal matches at Aspire Zone Indoor Hall in Doha, Qatar on Saturday. Trentino BetClic plays PGE Skra Belchatow in the final of the competition at 20:00 local time on Sunday preceded by the bronze medal match between Zenit Kazan of Russia and Paykan of Iran at 18:00.
PGE Skra Belchatow bt Zenit Kazan 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-21, 26-24)
PGE Skra Belchatow of Poland rebounded from one set down to win three successive sets in their way to defeat Zenit Kazan of Russia in the first semifinal match. The brilliant attacker Bartosz Kurek, the opposite Stephane Antiga and the setter Miguel Falasca were the key to victory for the Polish club, the first topping the match scoring with an impressive 28 points, the second for both his attacking and defensive role and the third with his magical setting throughout the match. Sergey Tetyukhin was Zenit’s top scorer with 24 pts.
Trentino BetClic bt Paykan 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19)
Trentino BetClic of Italy created a lot of pressure through the wing spikers Matey Kaziyski and Leandro Vissotto to overwhelm Pakan of Iran in straight sets 25-18, 25-22, 25-19 in the second semifinal. Trentino maintained the record of Italian teams being regular qualifiers for the FIVB men’s Club World Championships final whilst maintaining also their ambition to keep all the FIVB Men’s Club World Championships titles in the same country with Italian clubs having claimed the honours for the past four editions.
The Trentino duo of Kaziyski and Vissotto were the match superstars with their unstoppable spikes that penetrated the Iranian block from all net positions. The two wing spikers scored 39 points out of the total team tally of 75 points with Kaziyski topping the match scorers with 20 points and four blocks, while Vissotto scored 19 crucial points. The Iranian opposite Mohamed Kazem was the match joint top scorer with 20 points.
Prior to the final, the FIVB will organize a second seminar to evaluate the new rule - Golden Formula, which has been trialed at the FIVB 2009 Men’s Club World Championships. The new rule requires that the first attack for each team after the opponent service begins from the back row in an attempt to produce longer rallies. The seminar will constitute all the sport parties including the local and international media that has been covering the competition.