Fenerbahce, Halkbank, Ziraat and Arkas – those are not very surprising winners of the Turkish play-offs first rounds. Semifinals will start this Sunday.
Neither of winners needed the third deciding match, all series finished 2:0.
Ziraatbank Ankara swept Maliye Milli Piyango easily off the court even by playing substitution players 3:0 (21:25, 20:25, 16:25) and 3:1 (25:23, 17:25, 25:21, 25:17) score.
Arkas Izmir did not start their first match after gaining Turkish cup against the outsider MEF Okullari with enough focus and after losing 2:0, had to fight back for the 3:2 victory. The second match in Izmir was definitely easier and with 3:0 victory, Arkas advanced to semifinals.
As expected, the last years champion Fenerbahce finally woke up and showed their real potential during series against Istanbul Büyüksehir Belediyespor. After fails in Turkish Supercup, Turkish Cup and the Champions League, Fenerbahce stars Miljkovic, Marshall and Coskovic are showing the highest motivation and determination to defend the championship. In matches won 3:0 and 3:1, Fenerbahce used very effective serves against Istanbul. Miljkovic scored 16 and 19 points, Marshal 16 and 18 and Coskovic has added another 16 points, whilst especially in the first match, Istanbul Belediye attac failed.
In the series against Galatasaray, it was enough for Halkbank Ankara to play at their usual level, as Galatasaray coach Menkuer Isik continued in all-season-long searching for a successful line-up. His constant swapping of 3 opposites, 4 outside hitters and 4 middle-blockers led to easy 3:1 and 3:0 defeats.
While the first round did not show enough good volleyball, the semifinals are definitely going to be very exciting. Not only finals, but also nothing less than two tickets to the Champions League are in stake, so Ziraat, Fenerbahce, Halkbank and Arkas are preparing for very even and fierce star-wars. The semifinals are starting on Sunday, continuing on Wednesday and Friday.
Turkish League Playoffs Semifinal match-ups:
Ziraatbank Ankara – Fenerbahce Istanbul
Halkbank Ankara – Arkas Izmir
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