Turkey – team
In the other match of the day, Turkey routed Israel in three straight sets. Actually Israel opened very strong going up 5:1 in the first set and 8:4 before Turkey fired back to re-open the fate of the game. Israel set the pace at the technical time-out (12:9) but Turkey responded well and though Israel went again to the front with a spike killed by Guy Ben Gal (18:16), Turkey did not lose focus and finished it off at 22-20.
Things followed a similar plot in the second set with Israel going up 5:3 and 7:4 before a neck-to-neck race unfolded after the technical time-out. The final rush of the set was really dramatic and after a tie at 20 all, Turkey claimed the next two points resisting to a very good performance by Israeli star Ben Gal.
After another close start (10 all), Turkey changed gear after the technical time-out of set 3 (16:12) and even though Israel closed the gap to a minimum (15:16), Turkey did not lose control of the operations and could wrap it up in straight sets (21-18).
“We lost most of our points due to our own mistakes” says Israeli coach Zohar Bar Netzer. “Even though we showed good things in this game this is a good lesson to take for my young players.”
“We have got a young team and we are improving match after match. The Israelis are young too and they have a great potential” comments Turkey’s captain Sinan Cem Tanik.
To read more news from this competition click on European League 2013 M.
