The battle for the throne is coming as four teams have come close to the finish line arriving into the Men’s Champions League Final Four which starts April 2nd. Objectively speaking all of these teams have a real chance at claiming the throne and it should be interesting to see how it finishes up. In honor of the Final Four, we decided to do a little preview of how we expect things to go down…
Sir Safety Perugia vs Zenit Kazan…
This is a match-up that was destined to happen. Wilfredo Leon left Zenit Kazan after winning 4 CEV Champions League in a row with them and ended up joining a team that failed to arrive to the finals after losing to Zenit last year. Leon will have a chance to prove that he was a key component of that squad and continue to cement his legacy as probably the best to play the sport of volleyball. Although he might come out on top, it is not an easy task for Leon and Perugia as they will face a well-coached Zenit. Another aspect to look forward to, is the fact that the top two setters of the tournament will get a chance to face each other and basically determine who can run a better offense. Luciano DeCecco will have the 6th top scorer of the tournament Aleksandar Atanasijević (132 pts) and Wilfredo Leon (125 pts) at his disposition while Aleksandr Butko will look to respond with Maxim Mikhailov (98 pts) , Matt Anderson (79 pts) and Earvin Ngapeth (121 pts) as his principal go to’s. It is a match-up that promises no disappointment as some of the biggest guns in the games will get a chance to go head to head.
The SpikeNet chooses Sir Safety Perugia over Zenit Kazan.
PGE Skra vs Lube Civitanova…
Last time these two teams met, Lube Civitanova came out on top winning 3:1 at the FIVB World Club Championship. For most people, this is a one-sided battle because of Lube’s star-studded lineup, but in reality, PGE Skra can’t be dismissed right away. We’ve also seen Lube struggle in reception way too often in this tournament which could open a window for Skra to take advantage of them. Despite this minor flaw within Lube’s way of playing, they do have a very consistent Tsvetan Sokolov down the right side with a total of 129 points, a practically unmanageable Robertlandy Simon with 21 blocks down the middle and an experienced Osmany Juantorena who can turn it on whenever he wants. In order to pull this off, Skra will have to pray that Milad Ebadipour and Mariusz Wlazly play their best volleyball yet. At the end of the day, this might indeed be a series to be lost by Lube, but anything can happen in these scenarios and that’s why we love the sport of volleyball.
The SpikeNet chooses Lube Civitanova over PGE Skra.
Well there you have our little rundown. Now who are you rooting for?
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