With the final act of the Champions League Pool C the red and whites completed another important step of the season and they did so by achieving 6 wins out of 6 in the group, the last one at home against a combative Knack Roeselare. The success with the Belgian team was therefore the icing on the cake of the group stage and gave the charge in view of the championship match scheduled for Sunday in Verona.
The grid of direct clashes
The path of Cucine Lube in the direct confrontation phase is complicated, but offers interesting perspectives. Above all because in the event of exploits in the Quarterfinals, Italian derbies in the eventual Semifinal would be avoided. The coach Chicco Blengini bans pindaric flights, invites you to think step by step and underlines the difficulty of matching with your next rivals, strengthened in the market phase.
In the European event, Lube will be back on the field between 7 and 9 March in Turkey and between 14 and 16 March at the Eurosuole Forum (dates and times to be defined) for the double quarterfinal match against Nimir Abdel’s Halkbank Ankara -Aziz and new signing Thomas Jaeschke. This is the only quarter already defined. The Marches won Pool C, while their rivals finished Pool B in the lead.
There are 4 precedents with Halkbank Ankara: going backwards, in 2016 the cooking team eliminated the Turkish team in the Champions League Playoffs 6 at the end of a throbbing double match that began with a home victory at the tie break and ended with the subsequent redemption rivals in their headquarters in the fifth set, with red and white exploits in the point to point of the Golden Set. Older but just as sweet, the memories in the quarterfinals of the CEV Cup 2004/05, when Lube eliminated Halkbank conquering the Turkish arena and repeating itself with the maximum margin at home. The red and white journey ended with arms in the sky after the daring victory in the Final with Mallorca.
