CSKA eliminated Neftochimic after a dramatic battle! 🔥
The "Reds" won the decisive third quarterfinal with 3:1 (25:17, 25:23, 20:25, 25:22) in Burgas' "Boycho Branzov" hall and advanced to the semifinals! Thus, after neither of the two Burgas teams managed to qualify for the Bulgarian Cup final, now again no "sea" team will compete for medals in the championship, as Deia was also eliminated in the 1/4 finals.
➡ First set: CSKA imposed its will with a powerful serve and stable block. Strahinja Brzakovic was unstoppable with 9 points, while Todor Kostov and Stoyko Nenchev were a wall at the net – 25:17.
➡ Second set: The battle was close until the very end! Neftochimic took the lead at 17:16 after an ace by David Krastev, but CSKA showed character and closed the set with blocks by Kostov and Stankov – 25:23.
➡ Third set: The Burgas team struck back! Rozalin Penchev led his team, and Pedro Santos and Axel Trukhtchev were flawless in attack. Neftochimic reduced the score after 25:20.
➡ Fourth set: A decisive set with many twists! Neftochimic led 15:12, but CSKA showed composure. A block by Brzakovic gave the "Army men" an advantage at 23:21, and a powerful attack by the Serb gave the first match point for the "Reds". The final score – 25:22 was registered after an unsuccessful attack by the recently substituted David Krastev! 🏐🔴
📊 Match statistics:
🔴Blocks:Neftochimic - 10, CSKA - 17
⚡Service points:Neftochimic - 5, CSKA - 7
🏐Top scorers:
CSKA:
✅ Strahinja Brzakovic - 27 pts. (1 ace, 4 blocks)
✅ Todor Kostov - 11 pts. (2 aces, 1 block)
✅ Nikolay Penchev - 10 pts. (1 block)
Neftochimic:
✅ Rozalin Penchev - 20 pts (1 ace, 1 block)
✅ Aksel Trukhchev - 18 pts (1 ace, 1 block)
✅ Ventsislav Ragin - 11 pts (1 ace, 4 blocks)
The match was also watched by national player Denis Karyagin, who took advantage of the break in the Turkish championship to visit and observe his former teammates from "Neftochimik."
CSKA coach Aleksandar Popov expressed his satisfaction with his team's victory over Neftochimik and the fact that his team qualified for the semifinals of the championship, where their opponent will be Lokomotiv Avia.
"I want to believe that the key to victory was team spirit. We had, to put it mildly, a weak regular season. And despite the weak season, I can say that there was no tension or intrigues in the team. Now the boys performed well. We are trying to work in such a way that we don't have reserves and starters," Popov said about his team's advancement.
"We exchanged one victory each with Lokomotiv during the season, but now that doesn't matter. What's important is who will be better physically prepared, more recovered. We should host in 'Hristo Botev' hall, but if it comes to a fourth match, I don't know," the specialist added.
