National team captain Alex Grozdanov and his Bogdanka Lublin qualified without problems for the 1/2 finals of the Challenge Cup tournament, after today they defeated Spanish Melilla for the second time. After 3:0 in their away game in Spain, Leon and company delighted the home crowd with a quick victory, securing a new 3:0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-20) in less than an hour of play.
Coach Massimo Botti approached the match seriously, fielding almost his strongest squad, led by Wilfredo Leon. Kevin Sasak was missing from the hosts, as he was sick with the flu. Mateusz Malinowski, who replaced him, had a break due to injury but performed excellently, finishing the match with 69% efficiency. Jan Nowakowski was chosen as the MVP of the match.
Grozdanov entered briefly in the third set, scoring 2 points, one from a serve and one in attack. The most productive player for the hosts was Mateusz Malinowski, who finished with 12 points, while star Leon contributed 10 points in two sets of play. Valentino Vidoni from the visitors managed to score 14 points. Thus, the Polish team will face the winner of tomorrow's match between Sporting Lisbon and Belgian Decospan Menen, who eliminated local CSKA from the tournament. In all likelihood, Grozdanov and his teammates will meet the Portuguese in the 1/2 finals, who defeated the Belgians away with 3:0.