Turkish "Istanbul Genclik" won the Balkan Men's Volleyball Cup after finishing the tournament in the Greek city of Kalamata with three wins from three matches and without losing a set. In the decisive match on October 19, the team from Istanbul defeated the hosts from "Kalamata 80" with 3:0 and earned the only quota for participation in the third strongest European club tournament - the Challenge Cup. The first referee of the match was the Bulgarian Lyubomir Petrov.

The Bulgarian representative "Metalurg" (Pernik) finished its participation in third place. On the last day, the proteges of the Italian coach Francesco Mollo defeated the Kosovan "Lyuboteni" (Ferizaj) with 3:0 (25:18, 25:22, 25:20) and recorded their first success in the competition.
The Pernik team controlled the first set, but in the second, they had to catch up from a deficit. "Lyuboteni" led 21:19 before the Bulgarian team won six of the next seven rallies and closed the set at 25:22. In the third part, "Metalurg" again asserted its superiority and finished the match in 86 minutes of pure playing time.
Konstantin Manolev was the top scorer for the winners with 11 points, including one block. Lyuboslav Simeonov, who came off the bench, added 10 points, including two blocks and one ace. Nikolay Mihovski finished with 7 points, and Aleksandar Ivanov also scored 7.
For the Kosovan team, Rigon Bajrami and the Colombian Rony Mosquera Galvis scored 13 points each.
"Metalurg" finished the tournament with one win, two losses, and 3 points. On the first day, the Bulgarian debutant in the elite lost to "Kalamata 80" with 0:3 (16:25, 22:25, 14:25), and on the second, lost to the future champion "Istanbul Genclik" with 0:3 (16:25, 19:25, 17:25).

The Turkish team started the competition with a convincing victory over "Lyuboteni" with 3:0 (25:13, 25:15, 25:17), after which they also overcame "Metalurg". In the decisive clash with "Kalamata 80", the two undefeated teams determined the trophy winner.
With three clean victories, "Istanbul Genclik" finished first with 9 points and a set difference of 9:0. The Turkish club continues in the Challenge Cup, where their opponent in the next phase will be the Israeli "Maccabi Yaadim" (Tel Aviv).

photos: balkanvolleyball and nik.gr