Indesit Champions League
Trentino and Macerata play on Wednesday
The Champions League playoffs 12 kick off tomorrow. Both Italians, Macerata and Trento will play at 8.30pm. Trento will be in Belgium with the need to win at least two sets to knock out Roeselare and go through.
“This will definitely be a difficult and complicated game – said coach Radostin Stoytchev – We have seen how consistent and quick was Roeselare in the first leg. They play an unorthodox game compared to the team we usually face in Italy, this is exactly why it will be difficult to control them and predict efficiently their moves. Still, we have the advantage to know them better now and we will need to make this tactical preparation count. The court advantage could be a big factor but I think we still have excellent possibilities to go through, It’s all up to us”.
Meanwhile, Macerata will play host to the Slovenian team of Bled. Beaten 3-2 in the first leg, they will try to make the court advantage count to go through to the playoffs 6. They will try to avoid a tie-break which would lead to a Golden set, an additional set to 15 points. Before kick off, Marko Podrascanin will receive the “best blocker” award of the Main Phase. The Serbian registered 30 blocks (1.36 per set).
“I don’t want to talk about the first leg anymore – said Igor Omrcen – We let them play too much and missed out on a good opportunity. As far as tomorrow’s game is concerned, I want to insist on the fact that it is one of the most important game of our season, the Champions League is an extremely prestigious competition for us and the club. We want to go all the way, to take revenge on last season’s disappointment in Prague. We will need to win with a two-set margin to go through, we have to make it, we can’t make excuses. Macerata definitely has what it takes to do it, despite the fact that we will face a team extremely up for it and very close to make history in their country. We’ll need to get on court with determination and remained determined during the whole game. We must impose our rhythm right from the start, especially on the serve, we can’t afford to gift anything away. Hopefully, there will be a big crowd, because, I repeat, this is a crucial game. I really hope to see a packed Fontescodella ready to support us from start to finish”.
Indesit Champions League
Playoffs 12 return legs
Wednesday 17 February at 8.30pm
Knack Randstad Roeselare (BEL) – Trentino BetClic – Live on Sportitalia 2 (226 of sky)
(Huhtaniska-Garthoff)
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Ach Volley Bled (SLO) – Live on Sportitalia (225 of Sky)
