Halkbank (Ankara) continues its strong performance in the Turkish Efeler League. Radoslav Stoychev's team achieved its 11th victory since the start of the season, after defeating a direct competitor at the top – Istanbul Gençlik, by 3:2(25:23, 23:25, 21:25, 25:22, 15:11)in a match from the 13th round. After this success, Halkbank finished the first half of the season in second place in the provisional standings with 31 points and a balance of 11 wins and 2 losses. Istanbul Gençlik remains fourth with 28 points (9 wins, 4 losses). In the next round, the team from Ankara will visit Alanya, where the Bulgarian setter Georgi Seganov plays. The match is scheduled for January 11 at 13:00.

The match in the "TVF Ziraat Bankkart" hall offered a high tempo and constant turnarounds. The hosts took the lead after a contested first set, but the guests reacted and turned the score to 2:1 sets. In the crucial fourth set, Halkbank showed greater stability in attack and block, and in the tie-break, they established control from the very first rallies.

Tsvetan Sokolov played another strong match and finished as the top scorer for the winners with 23 points, including an ace and a block, with excellent attack efficiency. Matey Kaziyski also played an important role in key moments and finished with 16 points, contributing with stable reception as well. Yoandy Leal added 19 points, forming the powerful offensive trio of the Ankara giants. A curious moment was also the trust placed in the young setter Ömercan Burak Karahan (born 2007), who led Halkbank's game for a large part of the match.

For Istanbul Gençlik, Luciano Palonsky was the top scorer in the match with 25 points, and Morteza Sharifi supported him with 22. Despite this, the guests could not withstand the pressure in the decisive set.