Jesi.Iliya Petkov's first official appearance in the jersey of Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina brought a lot of emotions, but not a victory. The Bulgarian middle blocker's team lost 1:3 (22-25, 16-25, 26-24, 16-25) to Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza in the semifinal of the third edition of the Jesi Volley Cup and will not be able to fight for the trophy.

Thus, Grottazzolina remains out of the final, where Piacenza will meet the winner of the clash between Alex Nikolov's Lube Civitanova and Allianz Milano – a match that is being played later this evening. The loser of that match will meet Grottazzolina in a dispute for third place.

For Iliya Petkov, the match was special – the Bulgarian played for the first time in an official match with his new team and left a good impression with his play as a middle blocker. In the team from the Marche region, the national team player will play with another silver medalist from the World Championship in the Philippines – Georgi Tatarov. Both started as starters in coach Massimo Ortenzi's lineup and were actively involved in both attack and block. Petkov finished with 8 points, while Tatarov added 6.

Grottazzolina showed character in the third set, when they were six points behind, but managed to turn the tide and fight for the set after dramatic rallies and saved balls in defense. In the decisive moments, however, the class and depth of Piacenza's squad prevailed – five of the winners' players finished with double-digit scores, and the Cuban Simon and Gutierrez scored 17 points each.

Despite the defeat, Iliya Petkov's debut was encouraging – indicative of his potential to become a key element in Grottazzolina's system in the upcoming SuperLega season.

Photos: Nikolay Varadinov