Fino win thrilling battle, but victory comes at a heavy price

On Wednesday night, Hungary’s Fino KAPOSVAR secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Napredak ODŽAK – and yet the celebrations were somehow hampered by the serious knee injury suffered by their player Patrik Hubicska towards the end of the game. The return match scheduled for next week will define which side eventually progresses to Round 2 to play Austria’s reigning national champions TSV Raiffeisen HARTBERG.  

The Champions League qualifier between Fino KAPOSVAR and Napredak ODŽAK began in a fantastic atmosphere, with the home supporters and the enthusiastic Bosnian fans creating a great battle of noise in the stands. The Hungarian hosts made the better start to the opening set, leading 8-4 and then 11-6. Although Napredak managed to close the gap, Fino deservedly took the first set (25-17). The second set produced the biggest drama of the match. The Bosnian side held the advantage for most of it, and although Fino KAPOSVAR saved several set points during the 37-minute battle, the visitors eventually prevailed 30-28.
The Bosnians carried their momentum into the third set and turned the match around (25-23), but Fino responded by comfortably winning the fourth set to level the score (25-12). In the decisive fifth set, Fino once again had to fight back from behind. Napredak led 7-4, but the hosts managed to turn things around. At 13-12, however, the atmosphere inside the arena suddenly changed when one of Fino's best players, Patrik Hubicska, who finished the match with 23 points, suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury. The loss of their teammate did not unsettle the home side. Fino went on to win the fifth set 15-13 and close out the match. With the 3-2 victory, KAPOSVAR gained an advantage ahead of next week’s return leg.

The MVP of the match was Fino’s American opposite Jacob Steele, who scored 24 points, while Andrej Ristić led the visitors with 26 points, including as many as five aces.

Zoran Kedačič, head coach of Fino KAPOSVAR: “It is really difficult right now to share my thoughts and draw any conclusions about this game. First of all, it is never easy, no matter which round of the Champions League qualifiers you are playing in, because you are facing the best teams, the champions of their countries. So it is never an easy game, and I did not expect an easy one today. Napredak played amazing Volleyball, so congratulations to them. They pushed us a lot, and we survived today. We came back from 1-2 down and played really well, so first of all, I would like to congratulate my team. They fought back, they never stopped believing, and it was a high-level game. Again, I am happy that we are back in this competition and that KAPOSVAR is playing in the Champions League again. It is really nice to see so many people here and to compete in this atmosphere, in this beautiful arena. But in the end, after what happened to Patrik Hubicska, I do not know what to say. I cannot share any information right now because we have to wait and see what the doctors say, but it does not look good. So right now, I am not the happiest coach in the world.”

Ljubiša Ristić, head coach of Napredak ODŽAK: “It was a tough game, but we played without pressure. We know that we have a second game at home, and I think the guys did a good job. We took one point, but it is not enough. We have to win the second match 3-0 or 3-1, or 3-2 to force a Golden Set. It will be difficult for us to win because KAPOSVAR is a very good team with a good coaching staff. I think they will study us well, and it will be a nice game, the second match at our home. It is never nice to see an opposing player get injured. It is always a bad thing. The score was close, we came back to 13-12, and then finished the set like we did. I hope that the injured guy is okay, and I wish him a speedy recovery.” 

Elsewhere, Orion Stars DOETINCHEM of the Netherlands looked truly dominant in their home match-up with North Macedonia’s UGP Stip STIP resulting in a compelling 3-0 victory (25-13, 25-19, 25-17) powered by their star player Wouter ter Maat, who has returned to play in his home country after spending most of his career abroad.