Six teams celebrate national cup victories in four countries

• Gacko and Radnik Bijeljina win women’s and men’s Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup trophies

• Sada Cruzeiro Volei Belo Horizonte collect eighth men’s Brazil Cup trophy

• Olympiacos Piraeus win women’s Greece Cup for the 10th time

• Thousands of fans cheer on as Vasas Obuda Budapest and Fino Kaposvar win Hungary Cup finals

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary crowned their women’s and men’s volleyball national cup winnerslast week. The men’s cup tournament in Brazil and the women’s cup tournament in Greece also came to an end with their finals on Sunday.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

For the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the women’s and the men’s national cup finals were combined into one event. It was held at the Skolski centar Fra. Martina Nedica in Orasje on Saturday evening. In the first match, Gacko achieved a 3-1 (25-13, 25-23, 16-25, 25-16) win over Bimal-Jedinstvo Brcko to claim their second women’s Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup in history. Gacko’s 29-year-old middle blocker Ana Gajic and 31-year-old Serbian outside hitter Jelena Stanimirovic led the team with 15 points each, while Bimal-Jedinstvo’s 21-year-old opposite Manuela Dragovic delivered a match-high 17 points. Stanimirovic was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

Gacko’s team roster

A capacity crowd watched hosts Magic Ice Domaljevac take on Radnik Bijeljina in the men’s Bosnia and Herzegovina final, but did not get to see their favourites lift their first national cup trophy. Radnik produced a 3-1 (25-17, 29-27, 18-25, 28-26) victory and defended the trophy they won for the first time last year. 28-year-old opposite Adi Osmanovic led Radnik with 21 points and received the MVP recognition, while his Magic Ice counterpart, 25-year-old Marko Milovanovic, was the best scorer of the final with 23 points.

Radnik Bijeljina’s team roster

BRAZIL

The week after hosting the women’s Brazil Cup final four event, the Arena Multiuso in Sao Jose did so for the men’s competition as well. Sada Cruzeiro Volei Belo Horizonte picked up their eighth national cup trophy after a convincing 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) sweep of Sunday’s final against Vedacit Volei Guarulhos. Sada Cruzeiro’s 26-year-old Cuban outside hitter Miguel Angel Lopez was the best scorer of the match with 17 points, while 24-year-old libero Lucas Batista Silva was named the MVP. In Saturday’s semifinals, Sada Cruzeiro delivered another straight-set win, 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-21) over Sesi Bauru, while Vedacit persevered through a five-set battle to celebrate a 3-2 (24-26, 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-12) comeback against Volei Renata Campinas.

Sada Cruzeiro Volei Belo Horizonte’s team roster

GREECE

For the 10th time in history, Olympiacos Piraeus snatched the women’s Greece Cup trophy. They mastered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-22) sweep of Sunday’s final against AEK Athens at the Georgios Galanopoulos hall in Loutraki. 28-year-old Serbian opposite Milica Kubura contributed a match-high 20 points, while 27-year-old Czech outside Michaela Mlejnkova, who added another 18 points, was honoured with the MVP award. Hellenic Volleyball Federation President Georgios Karampetsos presented the trophy to the winners in the company of high-ranked politicians. The two semifinals were also played at the same venue on Friday. Olympiacos snatched a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-14) victory over archrivals Panathinaikos Athens, and AEK defeated Aris Thessaloniki in straight sets, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-15).

Olympiacos Piraeus’s team roster

HUNGARY

The Erd Arena in Erd welcomed the medal matches in this year’s women’s Hungary Cup on Saturday. 2,200 fans cheered on from the stands (pictured in the main photo; source: Hunvolley), as Vasas Obuda Budapest mastered a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-21) sweep of the trophy match against Swietelsky-Bekescsaba to collect their third consecutive and 16th overall trophy in the competition. Their 21-year-old Gambian/Slovenian opposite Fatoumatta Sillah was the best scorer of the match with 19 points and received the MVP recognition. Earlier in the day, KNRC Kaposvar took the bronze after a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) victory over Fatum Nyiregyhaza in the third-place match.

Vasas Obuda Budapest’s team roster

The men’s Hungary Cup medal matches were played on Sunday at the same venue. Fino Kaposvar celebrated a spectacular 3-2 (25-13, 25-17, 18-25, 24-26, 16-14) victory over GreenPlan-VRCK Kazincbarcika to triumph as cup winners for the 19th time overall, but first in eight years. 32-year-old opposite Arpad Baroti topped the scorers’ chart with 25 points for the winners. In the bronze medal match, Kecskemeti RC Kecskemet took a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22) victory over Penzugyor SE Budapest.

Fino Kaposvar’s team roster