Radostin Stoychev's Halkbank achieved a clean 3:0 (25:22, 25:21, 25:19) victory over IBB Istanbul in a Turkish league match. The "Bulgarian" team this time was without Matey Kaziyski and Tsvetan Sokolov, but demonstrated squad depth and controlled the events throughout the three sets.

The match lasted 94 minutes, with the hosts being the more stable team in key moments.

Leaders on the court

Halkbank relied primarily on Yoandy Leal, who scored 18 points, and Marek Sotola with 17 points. The two carried the main attacking burden and were crucial in the second and third sets. Poland's Sliwka added 10 points to the victory.

On the other side, Denislav Bardarov once again gave his all. The Bulgarian finished with 17 points, +10 efficiency, 49% success rate in attack, and 29% effectiveness. The only serious problem in his game was the serve – out of 9 attempts, he made 5 errors.

Fazlı Ali also scored 17 points for IBB, but this was not enough to shake the hosts' dominance.

Team Statistics

The decisive element was reception – 56% positive for Halkbank versus just 42% for IBB. This allowed the hosts' setter to play variedly and maintain high attacking efficiency. The advantage in blocks (7 against 4) and the significant difference in points from opponent's errors (18 against 12) show better organization and discipline in Stoychev's team's game.

In the Standings

With this success, Halkbank recorded its 16th victory of the season and accumulated 47 points, trailing by only one point behind leader Ziraat Bank, who, however, has one less match played.

The battle for the top remains completely open. Halkbank demonstrated stability even without two of its big stars, which speaks to the squad's depth and good rotation policy. In the final phase of the regular season, this depth could prove decisive in the pursuit of first place.

photo:halkbankspor.org.tr