Macedonia – team
The F.Y.R. of Macedonia did have a relatively easy task with Albania and set the pace of the game all the way through to a 3:0 win paced by team captain Nikola Gjorgiev who scored 22 points.
Though it is the real underdog in the Pool, Albania played fairly good going up even 7:2 in the third set but could eventually not respond to the very solid performance delivered by the Macedonians.
Ukraine, the pre-favorite to finish first in the group, went off to a flying start in their game with the guys from Montenegro. Though they had some ups and downs, the Ukrainians could keep full control of the game and cruise to a well-deserved 3:1 win. Montenegro had something to regret for they were up 21:17 and 22:20 before they eventually lost the second set 25-27. Their mistakes did pave the way with gold for Ukraine and after losing a close third set (23-25), Ukraine could comfortably claim the fourth (25-20) as Montenegro’s Milos Culafic top scored in the end with 25 points. Oleksandr Zhumatii paced Ukraine in their winning effort with 19 points.
To read more news from this competition click on World Championship – European Qualification M.
