12-SEPTEMBER-2012
BELARUS – PORTUGAL DECISIVE IN THE ROAD TO EURO’13
 

The upcoming match between Belarus and Portugal, set to next Friday at 16h00 (local time), in the Baskent Volleyball Hall of Ankara (Turkey) will be decisive to the definition of the first two ranked teams in Pool A.

Following the 1st tournament held in Vila do Conde, the national teams of Portugal, Belarus, Turkey and Great Britain meet again for the final showdown. [Ver Standings Pool A].
The matches can be followed through live score.
Only the first ranked team of each pool qualifies directly to the final round. The second ranked team from Pool A will play the second ranked team from Pool F for the ultimate chance of reaching the European Championship.

A hard mission, but that can be accomplished according to the National Head Coach.
“We had a rough start in Vila do Conde and we lost some important points. I believe we didn’t manage well the pressure of playing home. Looking at the results from the 1st tournament, I believe the match against Belarus will decide the first place in Pool A. It’s our objective to play for the victory from the first game, although we acknowledge that Belarus is a well-balanced and structured team”.

Libero Ivo Casas shows confidence and caution at the same time:
“The 2nd tournament will be more complicated than the 1st one in Vila do Conde, hence we will be playing away, in the home of the National Team of Turkey, which disputed with us a very balanced match last week. We need to improve our game plan and even our attitude inside the court, as we haven’t played well enough with Belarus and Great Britain. We need to put the pressure on our opponent sooner. If you manage to do so, everything will work better, and maybe we can even aim for the top of the Pool.”

The 2nd tournament will take place in Ankara, capital of Turkey, from 14 to 16 of September where, the National Team will play Belarus, Great Britain and Turkey by this order. [Schedule]
The first team of each Pool qualifies automatically for the 2013 European Championship taking place in Denmark and Poland. Already qualified for the tournament are: Denmark and Poland (host countries), Serbia, Italy, Russia, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
The second ranked teams of each group qualify for the third round where they have to dispute a playoff (home & away matches) to reach the final stage of the tournament.

BASKENT VOLLEYBALL HALL
Tel: +90 312 221 40 40
Fax: +90 312 221 40 10

SURMELI HOTELl
Tel : +90 312 231 76 60

More info: www.cev.lu