An Olympiacos made of strong metal and ready for a cup! Alberto Giuliani’s team demonstrated all their class, quality and European experience against the much less experienced Maccabi on Sunday evening (03.05.) in the Shlomo Group Arena taraflex and prevailed in the final with 3:0 sets (20:25, 23:0) through. 25, 14-25) in the inaugural Challenge Cup final and will now become clear favorites for the European Cup with the return leg on March 15th at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

Essentially after their triumph in Israel, the red and white win the title with a win in the second leg or even a 3-2 loss, two sets being what they’re aiming for to go on to win their third European title in their history European Cup Winners’ Cup (1996) and Top Teams Cup (2005).

The match

The atmosphere in the Shlomo Group Arena was hot from the 3,500 Maccabi fans but Olympiacos was not affected at all as the red and white players enjoyed a good reception and never allowed the home team to walk away with the first set result.

The two teams went head-to-head in a tough bra de fer that put them at 19-19, but in the final straight the Greek team, armed with an excellent serve and an impressive block, outperformed their opponents for first 25-20 set with Hidalgo (scored 20-24 with a nail), Stern and Pagenk (scored 20-25 with a block).

Winning the first set allowed Alberto Giuliani’s team to gain an early advantage in the second, with the Reds and Whites using their powerful block as a stepping stone and even building the difference to five points (6-11).

Somewhere there Maccabi “woke up” and returned to the set with six unanswered points, with the Red-Whites not losing their focus and self-control and going into the closing stages with a two-point lead (20-22). However, the home team equalized with 23:23, and that’s where the experience and class of the Greeks spoke, who Pagenk scored with a grandiose single block to 23:24 and Stern with an impressive ace sealed the victory in the second set (23-25).

If Olympiacos met heavy resistance in their larger pieces in the first two sets, they did not in the third as the Piraeus players entered the Taraflex demoralized and took a clear lead. 3-7 became 5-11 and from there the score reached 10-16, with the Greek team having absolute dominance in blocks and aces against their frustrated opponent (losing the first two sets for the first time this season in Europe at their headquarters) and never look back.

The result was an Imperial 25-14 and a clear message to the Israelis, who won 3-0 sets, that he is now determining the pair’s destiny on their way to winning their third European trophy.

*Maccabi Tel Avila points come from 1 ace, 34 attacks, 6 blocks and 16 enemy errors and Olympiacos points come from 10 aces, 32 attacks, 14 blocks and 19 enemy errors.

The sentences: 0-3 (20-25, 23-25, 14-25) in 98′

MACCABI TEL AVIV (Gal Galili): Iglesias 2 (2/5 ref.), Batzkala 7 (2/4 ref., 5 blocks), Grasso 6 (5/22 ref., 1 block, 55% sub. – 27% excellent), Safonov 13 (13/ 28 f.), Feuer 8 (8/19 f., 57% f. – 25% excellent), Sokolov 4 (3/9 f., 1 ace) / Eisenberg (l, 21% f. – 4% f. ), Burgi 1 (1/2 ff.).

OLYMPIACOS SFP (Alberto Giuliani): Pagenk 7 (5/12 ref., 2 blocks), Star 19 (9/22 ref., 6 aces, 4 blocks), Gustavao 7 (3/6 ref., 4 blocks), Koumentakis 5 (4/13 ref. , 1 block, 61% under – 32% excellent), Travitsa 2 (1/1 v., 1 block), Hidalgo 16 (10/19 v., 4 aces, 2 blocks, 44% sub – 33% excellent) / Tziavras (l, 33% sub. – 33% excellent), Dalakouras, Linardos, Zoupani.