BENFICA wins Portuguese Supercup
The match showed that SC ESPINHO is still in the process of growing as a team, and SL BENFICA seems reinforced after contracting two Brazilian players, namely Raphael Margarido (a setter previously playing for JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel in Poland) and William Reffatti (wing spiker).
SL BENFICA started out very well with William Reffatti and Hugo Gaspar performing strong in attack. The “red” superiority at the net earned them a good advantage in the score that could never be threatened by SC ESPINHO until the end of the first set.
The second set began well balanced but BENFICA managed to reach the first technical time-out in the “driver’s seat” (8:6). A balanced dispute between the two teams was seen through the entire set, broken only in the final points when Hugo Gaspar in the service and Reidel Toiran in blocking put the Lisbon side up in the front.
Everybody was waiting to see a reaction from SC ESPINHO in the third set, but it was BENFICA again to start better, scoring six consecutive points without response, reaching the first technical timeout with an 8:1 lead. SC ESPINHO’s Filipe Pinto tried to turn things around, but the confidence and determination of the 2011 Portuguese Cup winners remained unshakable till the end of the match.
Hugo Gaspar with 17 points was the match best scorer, while Filipe Pinto, with 11 points, was the best from SC ESPINHO.
José Jardim (SL BENFICA head coach) said: “We played very well and deserved the win. We barely committed mistakes throughout the match and we’re pleased for being able to conquer another title for the club. Volleyball is made of victories and defeats, and the responsible for me being here today is my great passion for this sport”.
Hugo Silva (SC ESPINHO head coach): “The score reflects our physical form as our game got worse throughout the match due to the players’ fatigue. On the other hand, we began the preparation later than expected due to some problems within the club. We were aware that we needed to prepare this match in a better way, but that was not possible. Our objective for this year is to do our best in the national league. Coaching BENFICA is easier than coaching ESPINHO as we have some financial problems that make us adapt some players to other positions, while BENFICA has the economic power to sign new players thus having more solutions”.
Miguel Maia, setter of SC ESPINHO: “We are working well but the fatigue was decisive. BENFICA played very strong in all sectors which made our job even harder. We will try to challenge the best teams so we can improve our game and develop the younger players”.
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