The Champions League is entering its knockout phase, and the interest for Bulgarian fans is greater than ever. Three teams with Bulgarian participation are moving forward:
Cucine Lube Civitanova (Alex Nikolov)
Bogdanka LUK Lublin (Alex Grozdanov)
Guaguas Las Palmas (Dobromir Dimitrov)
Here's what their path to the quarterfinals looks like.
📌 Lube (Alex Nikolov) – directly to the quarter-finals
The Italian grand finished first in Group E with 15 points and an impressive set ratio of 17:5.
| Team | Points | Games | Point ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cucine Lube Civitanova | 15 | 17:5 | 1.250 |
Lube is #3 among group winners, which means they will face the strongest playoff winner. The most realistic options are:
Trentino
Projekt Warszawa
Resovia Rzeszów
Meaning – a tough quarter-final right at the start of the knockouts.
🇵🇱 Bogdanka LUK Lublin (Alex Grozdanov) – Polish derby
Lublin won Group B with 15 points and an 18:7 set ratio.
| Team | Points | Games | Games coefficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bogdanka LUK Lublin | 15 | 18:7 | 2.571 |
As No. 4 among the leaders, Bogdanka will play directly against No. 5:
👉 Bogdanka – Zawiercie
Polish derby in the quarter-finals without playoff participation.
🇪🇸 Las Palmas – playoff for a quarter-final spot
The Spanish team finished second in Group C with 8 points.
| Team | Points | Games | Games coefficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaguas Las Palmas | 8 | 12:14 | 0.857 |
Las Palmas enters the playoffs as one of the lower-ranked teams and will face:
👉 Trentino
This is one of the toughest possible tasks. The Italians finished with 11 points and a strong performance in Group A.
🧩 The complete playoff picture
| Match-up | Match |
|---|---|
| 1 | Trentino – Las Palmas |
| 2 | Montpellier – Knack Roeselare |
| 3 | Projekt Warsaw – Resovia Rzeszów |
The toughest pairing is the Polish clash Warsaw – Resovia. The winner from there could turn out to be Lube's opponent.
❓ Will there be a Bulgarian derby?
In the quarter-final – no.
Lube is #3
Bogdanka is #4
The only direct clash between leaders is 4 against 5 – that is already Lublin – Zawiercie.
A potential match between Nikolov – Grozdanov could only happen in the semi-final or in the Final Four.
🏐 What's next?
Lube awaits a tough opponent
Bogdanka enters a Polish derby
Las Palmas goes up against Trentino
🏆 The full schedule of the quarter-finals (all pairings)
| No. | Quarter-final | How the opponent is determined |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ziraat Ankara – winner of the playoffs (weakest) | Ziraat (No. 1) awaits the lowest-ranked playoff winner |
| 2 | Perugia – playoff winner (middle) | Perugia (No. 2) will play against the second strongest playoff winner |
| 3 | Cucine Lube Civitanova – playoff winner (strongest) | Lube (No. 3) will face the strongest of the three playoff winners |
| 4 | Bogdanka LUK Lublin – Aluron Zawiercie | The only direct clash between leaders: No. 4 versus No. 5 |
All quarter-final matchups and the Bulgarians' path to the Final Four are already clear – only volleyball remains to decide.
