Georgi Seganov and Kristiyan Aleksov's Istanbul BBSK defeated Branimir Grozdanov's Sultanbeyli at home with a score of 3:2 (25:15, 17:25, 20:25, 25:21, 15:12) in the second round of the Turkish championship. The hosts turned the match around from 1:2 sets and achieved victory after 143 minutes.
Grozdanov was among the leading scorers for the visitors with 20 points – 18 from 36 attacks for 50% success rate, an ace, and a block. The receiver started as a starter in all five sets and handled 31 serves without a direct error, with 52% positive and 23% perfect reception.
Seganov led Istanbul BBSK's play as the starting setter in all parts and finished without a point. Aleksov came in as a substitute in the third set but remained without a successful attack in four attempts.
After a convincing start by the hosts, Sultanbeyli won the next two sets and took a 2:1 lead. However, Istanbul BBSK brought back the intrigue with a 25:21 win in the fourth set, and then prevailed 15:12 in the tie-break.
The most effective player for the winners was the Iranian opposite Ali Fazli with 32 points – 26 from attack, three aces, and three blocks. Serbian star Uroš Kovačević added 20.
For Sultanbeyli, Croatian opposite Petar Dirlić, a former teammate of Alex Nikolov at Lube, finished with 21 points – 16 from attack, three blocks, and two aces. Grozdanov was just one point behind him.