Venislav Antov continues to establish himself as one of the brightest figures in the French Marmara Spike Ligue. The Bulgarian international played another strong match and scored 30 points, but even that was not enough for Tourcoing, who suffered a painful loss after a complete comeback.

Tourcoing missed a match that seemed fully under control and lost 2:3(26:24,25:19,21:25,23:25,12:15) during their away game against Cannes in a match from the 20th round.

Antov is now #2 among top scorers in France

With his new 30 points, Antov was not only above everyone on the court but also climbed to second place in the championship's top scorers ranking – a serious recognition of his consistency throughout the season.

The national player also scored 1 ace and registered an impressive 52% attack efficiency (+18), once again being the main driving force in Tourcoing's offensive game.

Cannes found the key in defense

While Antov led the visitors' attack, the hosts from Cannes found their hero in the back row. After a very long absence, libero Okan Demiryürek returned to play and immediately made an impact.

The Frenchman was named MVP of the match after being everywhere in defense:

• 22 receptions

• 45% positive reception

• 36% perfect reception

• Only 3 errors

His award was presented personally by Laurent Tillie, the former coach of France and current coach of Japan.

Strong figures in attack as well

For the winners, Canadian international Xander Ketrzynski finished with 23 points (3 aces and +13), while João Rodrigues Noleto added 14.

For Tourcoing, Ignacio Luengas and Simon Røhrig contributed 15 points each, with Røhrig shining with an impressive 5 blocks and 2 aces.

A look at the standings

After this match, Tourcoing remains in 3rd place in the provisional standings with 43 points, following 16 wins and 4 losses.

Photos: LNV