KATOWICE. Bulgaria finished second at the "Silesia Cup" tournament after losing their last match to host Poland. World No. 1 Poland inflicted a heavy 3:0 (25:17, 25:17, 25:15) defeat on the Bulgarians in front of nearly 10,000 spectators at Spodek Arena in Katowice in the final game of the friendly tournament "Silesia Cup 2026".
The Bulgarian national team entered the match as the interim leader after their successes against Ukraine and Serbia, but this time Gianlorenzo Blengini's squad could not counter the powerful play of "Druzyna Polska" (the Polish team).
From the very beginning, 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 game.
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In the first two sets, Bulgaria reached 17 points but failed to put the hosts under pressure. 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 played an additional set by prior arrangement between the staffs. In it, the Bulgarian nationals managed to shake off the shock and played much 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 two losses, following successes over Ukraine with 3:1 and Serbia with 3:2. The next stop for Gianlorenzo Blengini's team is control matches against Argentina, and after that, the "Lions" will travel to Brazil for the first tournament of the Nations League.
Venislav Antov was the top scorer for Bulgaria with 13 points, while Denislav Bardarov added 12. For Poland, Michał Gierdot was outstanding with 12 points, followed by Aliaksei Nasievich 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 their setters to play much more combinatively. Bulgaria also made more errors, which further facilitated the hosts' path to a decisive victory.
photos: Nikolay Varadinov
