KATOWICE. Bulgaria finished second at the "Silesia Cup" tournament after losing their last match to host Poland. World ranking leader Poland inflicted a heavy 3:0 defeat (25:17, 25:17, 25:15) on the Bulgarians in front of nearly 10,000 spectators in "Spodek" Arena in Katowice in the final match of the friendly tournament "Silesia Cup 2026".
The Bulgarian national team entered the match as the temporary leader after successes against Ukraine and Serbia, but this time Gianlorenzo Blengini's proteges could not withstand the powerful play of "Drużyna Polska" (the Polish team).
From the start, the hosts set a high tempo and dominated at the net. The Polish block created huge problems for the Bulgarian attackers, and Bulgaria's reception did not reach the level of previous matches. Despite numerous rotations and attempts at changes by Blengini, the Polish team completely controlled the development of the match.
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In the first two sets, Bulgaria reached 17 points but failed to put pressure on the hosts. In the third set, the difference became even more noticeable, with "the Lions" scoring only 15 points.
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After the official match, the two teams also played an additional set by prior arrangement between the staffs. In it, the Bulgarian nationals managed to shake off the shock and played significantly more freely, achieving a 25:22 victory.
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Thus, Bulgaria concluded its participation in the "Silesia Cup 2026" with two wins and one loss, following successes against Ukraine with 3:1 and Serbia with 3:2. The next stop for Gianlorenzo Blengini's team is control matches against Argentina, and then "the Lions" depart for Brazil for the first tournament of the Nations League.
The most effective player for Bulgaria was Venislav Antov with 13 points, and Denislav Bardarov added 12. For Poland, Michal Gierdot was above all with 12 points, followed by Aliaksei Nasevich with 11.
| Team | Block | Attack % | Attack Points | Positive Reception | Aces | Service Errors | Errors | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 6 | 41% | 45 | 43% | 3 | 16 | 29 | 74 |
| Poland | 17 | 48% | 51 | 51% | 3 | 12 | 26 | 97 |
The statistics clearly show Poland's enormous superiority, especially in blocking, where the hosts scored 17 points against only 6 for Bulgaria. The Polish team was also more effective in attack, and better reception allowed the setters to play significantly more combinatively. Bulgaria also made more errors, which further facilitated the hosts' path to a convincing victory.
photos: Nikolay Varadinov
