Israel recorded their first victory at the Men's European Championship just before their match against Bulgaria. The Israelis had to go through a full five sets to break Portugal 3:2 (19:25, 25:20, 20:25, 25:22, 15:7) in Group B in Sofia.
Portugal took the lead twice. The Iberians won the first set 25:19, Israel responded with 25:20, but the Portuguese went ahead again after 25:20 in the third. Israel took the fourth 25:22, and in the tie-break, they already dominated and reached a decisive 15:7.
Thus, after two defeats at the start of the tournament, Israel achieved its first success and added 2 points to its tally. Portugal continues without a win but earned its first point.
| Indicator | Portugal | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Attack points | 54 | 59 |
| Attack efficiency | 47% | 51% |
| Blocks | 10 | 5 |
| Aces | 4 | 4 |
| Positive reception | 60% | 45% |
| Excellent reception | 32% | 32% |
| Service errors | 23 | 13 |
Israel compensated for its weaker blocking and positive reception statistics with a more effective attack and significantly fewer service errors.
| Team | Player | Points | Break points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | Marc Rura | 23 | 7 |
| Israel | Shay Lieberman | 21 | 7 |
| Portugal | Alexandre Ferreira | 20 | 3 |
| Portugal | Semedo Tavares | 16 | 4 |
| Portugal | Garcia Martins | 10 | 1 |
Marc Rura and Shay Lieberman were Israel's main weapons – the two scored a total of 44 points, 14 of which came from breaks.
| Place | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9:2 | 9 |
| 2 | Poland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6:0 | 6 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7:3 | 6 |
| 4 | Israel | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4:8 | 2 |
| 5 | Portugal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2:9 | 1 |
| 6 | North Macedonia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0:6 | 0 |
Israel is now fourth with 2 points and enters its next match against Bulgaria with a first win under its belt.
photo:cev.eu
