Manuel Zlatanov was the top scorer in the final of the Sardinia International Volley Cup 2026 in Cagliari, where Gas Sales Bluenergy (Piacenza) defeated Itas (Trento) 3-0 (25:22, 29:27, 25:19) and won the preseason tournament.
The young outside hitter, son of former Italian international Hristo Zlatanov, and grandson of legend Dimitar Zlatanov, finished with 19 points and made a key contribution to the success of the team led by Dante Boninfante.
Piacenza faced serious resistance in the first two sets. In the opening set, the team led 21:15 but allowed Trento to reduce the deficit to 22:24 before closing the set. In the second, the winners saved two set points and prevailed 29:27. The third set was under their control and ended 25:19.

Besides Zlatanov, Alessandro Bovolenta and Roani Gutierrez also finished with double-digit scores for the winners, each with 12 points. Robertlandy McHenry and Gianluca Galassi added 8 each.
For Trento, the top scorers were Daniele Lavia and Théo Faure with 11 points each. The French opposite made his first appearance in the preseason preparation and finished with 56% attack efficiency. Brazilian middle blocker Flavio scored 10 points, including 5 from blocks.
Piacenza had a significant advantage in blocking – 13 points against 6, as well as in attack, where they achieved 54% efficiency against 43% for Trento. The winners were also more stable in reception – 58% positive against 36%.
For Trento, the final was the last test before the start of the season in the Italian SuperLega. Marcelo Mendez's team finished the tournament in second place, after defeating Czech Karlovarsko in the semi-final.
"We lost because we couldn't show our game, which is still far from the level we are aiming for. There are many things we need to work on and improve before the SuperLega debut," commented Mendez.
The final in Cagliari lasted 89 minutes and was watched by 2300 spectators.