Germany celebrate
Bulgaria’s Tsvetan Sokolov topped all scorers with 28 points, while Denys Kaliberda paced Germany in their winning effort with 25.
Both team had scored 3-point wins the previous day, and were determined to prove who was the true no. 1 in Pool D as they started the match very fiercely, staying neck-to-neck. The Germans were the ones slightly ahead at the first technical time-out, but Bulgaria stayed closely behind, not letting the rivals take control over the play. The Bulgarians tied the score at 12 and then for the first time took the lead at 15-13. The Germans remained concentrated and the set continued on a point-by-point basis. The Bulgarians defended eight set-points, but in the end were unable to stop György Grozer’s powerful serve and lost the set 34-36.
Bulgaria recovered from the loss in the previous set and began the next one very well – they quickly jumped ahead to 6-2 and Germany’s coach Vital Hebynen called a time-out. It did not help his team and the opponent got even further away (8-2 at the first mandatory break). Bulgaria maintained a safe distance up until 21-12, when the Germans seemed to wake up and scored six unanswered points (21-18 for Bulgaria). Nevertheless, Bulgaria did not let Germany flip the charts around and picked it up at 25-20.
Set 3 was another tight one as the score stayed pretty close from the beginning, with Bulgaria slightly ahead (8-5, then 12-10). However, after a controversial decision and a long discussion with the referees, the Germans lost focus and Bulgaria jumped ahead to a four-point lead at 18-14. They finished the set 25-21 with Viktor Yosifov’s strong hit to set the overall score at 2-1.
As the fourth set unfolded, it was obvious that the Germans were determined to stay in the game, which they proved with better serves and spikes. Bulgaria, on the other hand, had some troubles and made more unforced errors. Germany remained on top, piling up a five-point advantage at the second technical time-out. The rest of the set continued under Germany’s command and they claimed it 25-21, forcing the fifth and final set.
The Germans carried the momentum from the previous set in the tie-break and took the lead 3-0, then 6-2. They dominated on the court and it was just a matter of time for them to take the set 15-9 and the entire match 3-2.
“We had the chance to win in the first set, but we didn’t take it. After that it was a completely different match,” said the captain of the Bulgarian team, Todor Aleksiev. “I regret only the last set, when we were unable to play till the end,” added his coach, Camillo Placi.
Germany’s coach Vital Heynen found the way to stay in the game longer.
“We try not to give the points to the opponent,” he said during the press conference. “We try not to serve into the net, we try not to put the ball in the block”.
To read more articles from this competition click on European Championship 2013 M.
