Written by Danijel for Volleytimes©️.
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Following a thrilling day of semifinals, where Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia swept PGE Projekt Warszawa and Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie down an undefeated Ziraat Bankkart Ankara, before the Grand Final, two great teams battled to leave Turin with their first-ever Champions League medal.
PGE Projekt Warszawa, led by 30-year-old Kamil Nalepka, the youngest coach ever to contest a medal match, was one step to the glory, earning a 2-1 lead, but eventually collapsed at tie break, losing the game 2-3 (25:20, 23:25, 25:13, 23:25, 11:15).
Ziraat Bankkart Ankara, on the other hand, prevailed in a dramatic five-set match to claim the club’s first-ever Champions League medal led by an unstoppable Nimir Abdel-Aziz, who scored an incredible 36 points including 5 blocks, 1 ace and an impressive 60% in attack, well supported by Tomasz Fornal with 14 points and Trevor Clevenot, who added 13. For Warszawa, Kevin Tillie left the court with 26 points, while Bartosz Gomułka contributed with 23.
The triumph also marked a historic moment for Mustafa Kavaz, who became the first Turkish head coach to win a medal in the competition!
“From one side really happy, but the other part still didn’t forget about last night, because we had a big opportunity. Of course, we played one of the best team in the world – we know this. They played amazingly Plus Liga, but there was some opportunity and we missed this opportunity. It was not easy today, we were down 1-2 but we continued to try. I told them that it’s our last opportunity and if we miss it, everything’s gone. So we have to try, and if they beat us, they beat us after a fight and we fought until the end and won. And it’s kind of special, of course. We make something historic,” he said after the match.
Nimir Abdel-Aziz, captain of Ziraat Bankkart Ankara: “Honestly, it’s not the match you really want to play, but it’s nice that we finished the tournament with a win and a medal. It’s important for the club because it’s the first Champions League medal in its history, even though of course I wanted more. It was difficult to come back after yesterday’s loss. We were disappointed and returned to the hotel very late. But in the end, we are professionals, and whenever there is a match to play, you want to win. After losing the third set, we came back on court determined to push the match into a tie-break. It was very tight, but we really wanted this victory. Like I said, when you play in a tournament like this, you always want to win. This was a historic chance for Ziraat, so we couldn’t just give up and let Warszawa take it. We fought as a team and in the end we won.”
“It’s a very bitter defeat and it’s hard to find the right words to describe it. If Ziraat had won 3-0, maybe it would have been easier to swallow, but we were extremely close, which makes it hurt even more. Still, I’m proud of my team. For many of the players it was their debut at this level, and they definitely rose to the occasion. We were really close,” said Kamil Nalepka, head coach of PGE Projekt Warszawa.
And this evening we have a highly anticipated remake of last season’s final for the Gold!
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🏆| 2025/26 CEV Champions League | Final FOUR
📍InAlpi Arena Turin
SEMIFINALS
Saturday May 16, 2026
• 17.00 (Local Time) | PGE Projekt Warzawa (POL) – Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (ITA) 0-3 (19:25, 20:25, 24:26)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
20.30 (Local Time) | Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie (POL) – Ziraat Bankkart Ankara (TUR) 3-1 (25:19, 24:26, 25:19, 25:19)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
FINALS
Sunday March 17, 2026
👉🏼 BRONZE MEDAL MATCH | 17.00 (Local Time) | PGE Projekt Warszawa (POL) – Ziraat Bankkart Ankara (TUR) 2-3 (25:20, 23:25, 25:13, 23:25, 11:15)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• GOLD MEDAL MATCH | 20.30 (Local Time) | Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia – Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie (POL) 3-0 (29:27, 25:18, 25:15)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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