On April 12, the third match of the final series of the men's Super League-Dmart of the 2023/24 season took place in Chernivtsi.
We would like to remind you that the first two meetings ended in favor of VC "Prometey" (3:0 and 3:2). The final series of matches for awards lasts until three victories of one of the teams.
It should be noted right away that the Finnish setter Eemi Tervaporti did not appear in the "Epicenter-Podolyany" team due to complications after an illness.
Super League-Dmart 2023-2024. Men. Finals. Third game:
April 12 (Friday)
VC "Prometey" - "Epicenter-Podolyany" – 2:3 (16:25, 25:22, 25:19, 23:25, 12:15)
Score in the series: 2-1.
Starting line-up of VC "Prometey": Viietskyi (scored 10 points), Shchytkov (8), Tereomenko (12), Dryja (3), Stankovic (15), Yereshchenko (24), Brova (l), Boiko (l). Substitutes: Shapoval (0), Yevstratov (0).
Head coach: Flavio Gulinelli.
Starting line-up of "Epicenter-Podolyany": Jorna (scored 7 points), Didenko (2), Kavogo (20), Drozd (8), Smoliar (5), Finger (26), Fomin (l), Zhukov (l). Substitutes: Kisiliuk (0), Nalozhnyi (0), Sydorenko (0), Uryvkin (0).
Head coach: Mauricio Paes.
However, this did not become a problem for the "bisons" because in the first set they played very powerfully (4:1). Setter Vladyslav Didenko coped with his task perfectly and chose the attackers very clearly (17:11). The legionnaires of Podonyany Michal Finger and Kavogo effectively finished most of their attacks, and their teammates Maksym Drozd and Artem Smoliar played no less well on the block and on the serve - 25:16.
The Podolyany also started the second set better (8:5). Even after an unforced break due to the announced air alert, "Epicenter-Podolyany" immediately continued to dominate the court (10:5 - 15:10). However, the service of Prometey captain Vitalii Shchytkov became a big problem for the Bisons (15:15). Then there was an even fight (19:19). Only a mistake by the players from Horodok and an ace by Dmytro Viietskyi changed the situation in favor of the Dnipro team (22:19). In the end, Flavio Gulinelli's wards played clearly and harmoniously - 25:22.
After a 10-minute break, representatives of Khmelnytskyi region were among the leaders again. Finger served an ace, and his teammates supported him in the attack (8:5). However, the Dnipro team again showed character and persistence and quickly equalized the score (10:10 – 16:16). A mistake by Kavogo on the serve and a block by the Prometey allowed them to take the lead (18:16). Next was Yereshchenko's block (21:17) and his ace (23:18) and, ultimately, the end of the set in favor of "Prometey" - 25:19.
"Epicenter" was not going to give up in any case. This was especially demonstrated by blockers Maksym Drozd and Arter Smoliar: an ace from the first and a block from the second helped the "Bisons" become leaders (9:6). Podolyany continued to increase their advantage (16:11) and their desire to transfer the match to a tie-break (17:13). By the way, they succeeded - 25:23 and 2-2.
The tie-break has become a common sight in the confrontation between VC "Prometey" and "Epicenter-Podolyany".
At first, the PVLU arena was dominated by an equal struggle (2:2 – 7:7). The Podolyany were the first to earn break points: their block and error of "Prometey" and "Epicenter" already had a 2-point advantage (9:7). "Bisons" made a maximum effort to keep the scored points - 15:12 and 3-2 in the end.
The MVP award went to Michal Finger the opposite player of "Epicenter-Podolyany".
So, with this victory, the team from Horodok kept its chances of winning the gold medals of the championship of Ukraine.
Now the score in the series is 2-1 in favor of VC "Prometey".
We would like to remind you that the final series of matches will last until three victories of one of the teams.
The next fourth match will be held on April 14 at 16:00.
Watch online broadcasts of Super League-Dmart matches on the channel DIVISPORT on YouTube or the Megogo and Sweet.TV platforms.
