It was a masterful debut that the Nazairiens made on Wednesday evening in Ankara, Turkey. Without ever having rehearsed before, the SNVBA pulled off the first magic trick in its history in the Champions League. At the end of a stifling battle, ended at the end of the evening after 2 hours 41 minutes of fighting and an unreal decisive set (26-24) of 42 minutes, the outgoing French champion brought down Halkbank Ankara, a regular here, with a much more positive pedigree.
And yet, the pre-match clues did not really point in this direction. In his little shoes in Marmara SpikeLigue (3-4), the French champion seemed a little strained and buckling under the pressure, before pushing open the doors of the most prestigious continental competition. In itself, the challenge was already colossal. It was even made more difficult by the fame of an opponent, Halkbank Ankara, quarter-finalist of the last C1 and presented as an inedible ogre for Fulvio Bertini's squad. Especially since the Nazairians had to do without their captain and center guide, Helder Spencer, who was injured!
The SNVBA coach therefore recommended to his troops to clear their heads and play in complete freedom. In a word, enjoy the big moment. A light state of mind for a major conquest upon arrival. The men of the Atlantic played all the roles in Ankara: they controlled events for almost two sets, they stood back when they were pushed around in the third, before entering into resistance with composure remarkable in the tie-break, saving six match points, to conclude on the seventh occasion! In the footsteps of Jordan Ewert (26 pts) and a 20-year-old kid, Henri Léon (26 pts including 6 blocks), who seems to be growing at the speed of light since the start of the season, Saint-Nazaire posed , there, the first major brand in its European history.
The other French representative, Chaumont, also fought hard, before surrendering in the tie-break in Germany, at Lüneburg (2-3). For its return to the LDC, CVB 52 was not far from closing the affair in three sets, leading two sets to nothing, before getting back to 23 everywhere in the third set. But behind this good start, driven in particular by the French tandem, Mathis Henno (18 pts including 3 aces) and Pierre Toledo (20 pts), the Chaumontais were then turned around by Xander Ketrzynski (21 pts) and his friends.
Among the women, Nantes suffered the same fate and gave in to the deciding set for the second time in two Champions League matches. It was in Poland, in Lodz, that the Neptunes fell, after having erased two sets of expenses. The very high Polish wall (19 blocks including 8 for Sasa Planinsec) caused a lot of pain for Nantes, despite another strong match from Haylie Bennett (25 pts including 3 aces and 5 blocks). The Mariannes of Levallois will be on the track this evening. As part of the 2nd day of the Champions League, Alessandro Orefice's squad is in Obrenovac, Serbia.
