The women's section of Panathinaikos managed and checked the ticket for the quarterfinal phase of the Challenge Cup despite its 2-3 defeat by Hermes Ostandis.
Before the match with the Belgian team, the request was for the two sets for the “clover” and he managed it, even in an adventurous way.
The “greens” did not manage to have the very good performance of the first match, however the goal was achieved.
It is worth noting that the coach Apostolis Oikonomou used several players and tried different schemes in order to have time to participate. Now Panathinaikos is waiting for the team that will qualify between Tenerife and Bursa for the next phase
In the match, Panathinaikos entered the first set numbly and failed to catch the high standards of yesterday’s performance.
The “greens” did not manage to make a difference at any point of the match and at the end of the set they did not show the required composure, as a result of which they lost it 25-22.
In the second set, the “clover” seemed to find a good rhythm and did not allow the opponent to surprise again. The “greens” took the lead with 16-12 and finally won the set with 25-18, tying the game at 1-1.
Regarding the third set, the two teams were together in the score with 9-9 and in the middle of the set with 13-13. The team from Belgium took advantage of the inactivity of the “clover” and took the lead in the score with 20-16 and finally took the set with 25-21.
In the fourth set, when things became difficult, Panathinaikos seemed to wake up and took a 6-2 lead. He kept the difference and shortly after the halves of the set with 14-11 and took the set keeping the same difference of points with 25-22 and captured the qualification.
In the tie break, Panathinaikos was presented with many changes and finally lost 15-8.
Variation: 1st set: 8-6, 16-14, 20-21, 25-22 2nd set: 5-8, 11-16, 15-21, 18-25 3rd set: 8-6, 16-14, 21 -18, 25-21 4th set: 4-8, 13-16, 18-21, 22-25 5th set: 5-3, 10-7, 12-8, 15-10.
Ostend’s points came from 8 aces, 63 attacks, 9 blocks and 25 mistakes of opponents and Panathinaikos came from 3 aces, 63 attacks, 9 blocks and 25 mistakes of opponents.
The sets: 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10) in 114 ‘
OSTANDI (Cohen Devos): Lace 14 (11/34 ff., 3 blocks, 72% vs. 56% excellent), Jansewick 17 (17/45 ff., 51% vs. – 36% excellent), Bastdam 30 (26 / 64 fps, 4 aces), De Lave 2 (1 ace, 1 block), Jacqueline 6 (3/7 fps, 1 ace, 2 blocks), Geskir 11 (6/12 fps, 2 aces, 3 blocks) ) / Vaden (l, 55% sub – 45% excellent), Lafeber, Misocic.
PANATHINAIKOS AO (Apostolos Oikonomou): Konstantinou 5 (4/14 ff., 1 block, 42% yp – 17% excellent), Kros 12 (9/20 ff., 3 blocks), Stepanenko 16 (14/30 ff. , 2 blocks), Papafotiou 5 (2/3 ff., 3 aces), Hadava 10 (9/30 ff., 1 block, 45% yp – 29% excellent), Metaxa 3 (2/6 ff., 1 blocks) / Xintara (l, 50% sub – 40% excellent), Roga (l, 64% sub – 55% excellent), Chatziefstratiadou 11 (7/10 ff., 4 blocks), Konstandellou, Grothes 8 (8 / 23 ff., 83% min. – 58% excellent), Papastergiou, Tsitsigianni 2 (2/6 ff.), Karagouni 1 (1/6 ff.).
In a statement, coach Apostolos Oikonomou stressed “Congratulations to the players for qualifying. It was two back to back games. I think we did not start well in the first set and I think I am responsible for that. I did not read the opponent well in relation to yesterday. I think we entered a little lazily and when the team enters lazily it’s the coach’s fault. I have a share of responsibility.
Then we went a little to put the most basic shape. We had problems again. If you exclude the second set, in the third and fourth we did not play as we should. We did not play as we should because we gave them confidence from the first set and we did not push too much service. Yesterday you saw we made 17 blocks in three sets. Why; Because we pushed too much service and we were good in the block – defense. Today we had two players number three and number seven who created a problem for us and I think we allowed them to create a problem. When it does not have the service, the block and the defense, which is our element there is difficulty.
However, we overcame the difficulty, we went to 2-2, we got the qualification and I wanted to put the other girls in the tie break because we have matches again on Saturday. I also wanted to freshen up the team.
When you lose you have to take lessons. The lesson today is that you must always push your limits. Nobody wins before the race and that was a very good lesson for us. We have to congratulate the opponent who played better than yesterday. We continue for a better continuation.
If we play Bursa in the octave, the level goes up. “Turkish is one of the best leagues in Europe and perhaps in the world.”
Jennifer Cross underlined “Today we did not play as well as in the first match, but we managed and qualified. We wanted to satisfy our fans and although we did not win we achieved our goal. “Now we are called to continue in our competitive obligations in the championship and we are expecting our opponent in Europe”.
Coach Cohen De Vos said “We fought but we were a bit unlucky in the 4th set. We were much more competitive and we played better than the first match. Some refereeing decisions changed the flow of the match. “I hope we qualify for the cup final and do well in the playoffs of the Belgian championship.”
Merle Bazdam stressed: “The atmosphere and the fans here were amazing. It’s nice to play in such an atmosphere. We fought to the end. We hold the victory. It is amazing that we competed with fans because in Belgium it is not allowed. “It was very nice to have our fans here.”
