Volleyball club PAOK Thessaloniki officially announced its parting ways with long-standing coach Josko Milenkoski, who led the team for the last three seasons. The decision was made "by mutual agreement", but it seems the catalyst was the team's latest disappointing home defeat to AONS Milon with a score of 0:3 (20:25, 20:25, 35:37) in a match from the third round of the Greek Volley League.

The match in Thessaloniki lasted 100 minutes, with the third set turning into a real thriller – a full 44 minutes and five missed opportunities for the hosts to win the set and get back into the match. The end came after a powerful attack by Nanopoulos, with which Milon closed out the set and the match.

Statistics clearly show that PAOK suffers from a lack of consistency in attack and poor organization in reception and defense. The small contribution from the middle blockers and weak support from the reserves proved decisive.

Following the defeat, PAOK's team remained with a modest tally of three points and occupies seventh position in the standings, while Milon is now second.

PAOK's management announced that the new head coach will be Valantis Momas, Milenkoski's former assistant. This is an attempt at internal stabilization, but it will hardly be easy to fill the void left by the Macedonian specialist, who brought the club the Greek Cup and the Supercup in the last three years.

Although officially referred to as "mutual agreement," the loss to Milon appears to have been the last straw. The team, which played a final a year ago, is now looking for a new beginning – and the Bulgarian players in its ranks will have a key role in this revival.