Former captain and Bulgarian national player Elitsa Vasileva-Atanasijevic participated with Panionios in the first edition of the international tournament "Konstantinos Karelias" in Greece. The competition also included Turkish giants VakifBank and Galatasaray, as well as PAOK.
Panionios met European club champion VakifBank in the semi-finals and lost 1:3 (17:25, 20:25, 25:22, 20:25).
Vasileva-Atanasijevic was a starter and finished with11 points, scored from attack. The Bulgarian had11 successful attacks from 30 attempts, and in reception recorded53% positive and 32% perfect reception.
The most effective player for Panionios was Serbian opposite Ana Bjelica-Kubura with 23 points, while Katerina Zakaiou added 10. For VakifBank, Aleksandra Markova finished with 28 points, and Tijana Boskovic with 18.
In the small final, Panionios met Galatasaray. The match was decided after two contested last sets, with the Turkish team achieving a 3:1 (25:20, 17:25, 30:28, 25:23) victory and taking third place. Panionios remained fourth.
VakifBank won the trophy. In the final, the Turkish giant defeated PAOK 3:0 (25:13, 25:22, 29:27).
Final Standings
| Place | Team |
|---|---|
| 1. | VakifBank |
| 2. | PAOK |
| 3. | Galatasaray |
| 4. | Panionios |
VakifBank finished the first edition of the tournament with the trophy, PAOK remained second, and Galatasaray completed the top three. For Panionios, the tournament provided two tests against some of the strongest Turkish teams before the start of the official season.
Final matches
For 3rd place: Galatasaray – Panionios 3:1(25:20,17:25,30:28,25:23)
Final: PAOK – Vakifbank 0:3(13:25,22:25,27:29)
