Mixed news for the two Greek sides in volleyball’s Champions League
Panathinaikos is in big trouble in volleyball’s Champions League after suffering its second loss in as many games in its group yesterday. The Greens lost 0-3 at home to Poland’s Skra Belchatow in front of hundreds of Polish fans who outscreamed the Greek fans in the stands. Skra enjoyed a fantastic start to the game, winning the first set 16-25. Panathinaikos was far better in the second set and led 23-20 and 24-23 but missed out on all its set-points to concede the second one 27-29. The third set proved a mere formality, with the Poles winning 21-25. On Wednesday. Greek champion Iraklis scored its second win in two games, beating Czestochowa 2-3 in Poland. The Thessaloniki club took the first two sets (21-25, 20-25) but the hosts put themselves back on level terms (25-23, 25-23). However, Iraklis outclassed the Polish side in the tie-break (11-15) and returned home as group leader. In the Challenge Cup, both Lamia and EA Patras qualified. Patras scored a second 3-0 win over Dinamo Bucharest, while Lamia overturned the 3-1 deficit from the first leg and beat Berlin 3-1 at home to qualify through the «golden set» played.
