Fonte – PAOK 3-1: defeat and disqualification for Dikefalos

PAOK lost the second game to Fonte in Portugal by 3-1 sets and was excluded from continuing the Challenge Cup.

PAOK lined up with their original line-up: Walsh, Petrea, Koumentaki, Brown, Udris, Kouklinski and Libero Kokkinakis.

In the first set, it was the hosts who used serve to take a small lead at 8-4 at the start. Then Dikefalos collected his reception and found points from Udris but also from his centre, elements that tipped the result, 13-16. The “black and white” maintained their lead up to the last point with 18:21 and won the set in the end with 22:25, 0:1.

In the second set, both teams were tied at the beginning of the game, the hosts had a narrow lead of 8:7. Then the hosts risked the serve and pressed on the biceps players, increasing their lead to 21:13. It was then that Giannis Kalmazidis made changes to “get some air” and the set ended 25-15, 1-1 for the Portuguese.

In the third set, the hosts continued to risk the service line, which led to problems with the reception of the “blacks and whites”. This was the main ‘thorn’ in PAOK’s game, with the Portuguese taking a mid-set 16-10 lead which they retained until the final points 21-14. Dikefalos attempted a counterattack but lost the set 25-18, 2-1 and remained outside the institution.

In the fourth set, Giannis Kalmazidis distributed the participation time to the other athletes and hired six with “changes”. The Greek-Swedish coach drew useful conclusions and moved to second place, since that point of the game was not counted. The final 25-19 gave the Portuguese the victory by 3-1.