Cucine Lube Civitanova and Aleksandar Nikolov will play in the Champions League again, after the team secured a place in the SuperLega final. With this, the ".red-and-whites." automatically took one of the three Italian quotas for the strongest European tournament in the 2026/27 season.
The decision seems simple at first glance, but in fact it is based on the specific regulations of the championship, which this season do not provide for a match for third place.
The final opened the door for Lube
Qualifying for the final act of the championship was enough for Lube to guarantee participation in the Champions League. There the team will be alongside Sir Susa Vim Perugia, who also reached the final and logically took one of the spots.
Thus, the first two quotas are decided directly ". the finalists in the playoffs.
The key is in the regular season, not in a ".small final."
The big difference compared to previous years is that there is no playoff for third place. Instead, the third participant in the Champions League is determined administratively.
After being eliminated in the semifinals, two teams remain ". in this case, Rana Verona and Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza. There is no direct clash between them for the bronze.
The regular season standings become decisive:
Verona finishes second
Piacenza is fifth
This automatically sends Verona to the Champions League, as the ".best eliminated semifinalist.". Piacenza remains for the second strongest tournament ". the CEV Cup.
This mechanism practically replaces the match for third place and gives weight to the performance in the long phase of the season.
The battle for the last quota remains open
The only unallocated spot for Europe is for the Challenge Cup, which will be determined by the winner of the 5th place playoffs. Participating teams are:
Trento
Modena
Monza with Jasmin Velichkov
Milano
There, everything will be decided on the court.
Italian participants in Europe 2026/27
Champions League:
Perugia
Lube Civitanova
Rana Verona
CEV Cup:
Piacenza
Challenge Cup:
Winner of 5th place playoff
This year's system clearly shows a change in philosophy – fewer additional matches and more emphasis on the regular season. This benefits teams like Verona, who were consistent throughout the campaign, and at the same time ensures that the finalists – in this case Lube and Perugia – receive the logical reward.
For the Bulgarian public, however, the most important thing remains different – Aleksandar Nikolov will once again be part of the Champions League, and with a team that traditionally plays a significant role in the tournament.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
