Sada Cruzeiro win third Club World Championship in fine style

Out of the four games played between Cruzeiro and Kazan counting the 2015 and 2016 editions, this was the most astonishing one from the world champions, as they brought the Russian side to their knees with a superb straight-set win, the first time they blank this opponent. 

The crowd in Betim played their role as well, bringing noise and colour to boost the energy of their team. And there’s no better proof of their support than the fact that Cruzeiro have gathered their three world titles at the same Divino Braga gymnasium.

MVP William Arjona and scorers Evandro Guerra and Yoandy Leal were the main actors of a team that played astonishingly as a whole. The three of them represented the gold medal winners in the competition Dream Team, as well as libero Sergio Nogueira. Wing spiker Wilfredo León and middle-blocker Artem Volvich featured for Kazan while Trentino’s Simone Giannelli and Bolívar’s Pablo Crer also joined the elite.

The atmosphere for the final was already heated as Bolívar and Trentino battled for five thrilling sets in the bronze medal match, with the latter ending up triumphant after saving one championship point for their opponents. It was the sixth medal for Trentino, the only team that has claimed more medals in the competition than Cruzeiro, with four gold medals and two bronze.

16 - Yoandy Leal Hidalgo of Sada Cruzeiro v Taichung Bank on October 18

24 - Nikolay Uchikov of UPCN v Bolívar on October 19

19 - Jan Stokr of Trentino v Bolívar on October 20

17 - Thiago Vanole of Minas Tenis Clube v Bolívar on October 21

16 - Robertlandy Simón of Sada Cruzeiro v Bolívar on October 22

25 - Thomas Edgar of Bolívar v Trentino on October 23

25 - Thomas Edgar of Bolívar v Trentino on October 23

24 - Nikolay Uchikov of UPCN v Bolívar on October 19

19 - Jan Stokr of Trentino v Bolívar on October 20

19 - Todor Aleksiev of Bolívar v Trentino on October 23

18 - Yoandy Leal Hidalgo of Sada Cruzeiro v Zenit Kazan on October 20

5 - Pablo Crer of Bolívar v Trentino on October 23

5 - Pablo Crer of Bolívar v Minas Tenis Clube on October 21

5 - Pablo Crer of Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

4 - Sebastián Solé of Trentino v Bolívar on October 20

4 - Simone Giannelli of Trentino v Bolívar on October 23

4 - Oleg Antonov of Trentino v Bolívar on October 23

3 - Maxim Mikhaylov of Zenit Kazan v Taichung Bank on October 21

3 - Evandro Guerra of Sada Cruzeiro v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 19

3 - Jan Stokr of Trentino v Minas Tenis Clube on October 19

3 - William Arjona of Sada Cruzeiro v Taichung Bank on October 18

14 - Bolívar v Minas Tenis Clube on October 21 

13 - Bolívar v Trentino on October 23

12 - Trentino v Bolívar on October 23

10 - Zenit Kazan v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 18

10 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

11 - Sada Cruzeiro v Taichung Bank on October 18

9 - Sada Cruzeiro v Bolívar on October 22

8 - Sada Cruzeiro v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 19

8 - Bolívar v Minas Tenis Clube on October 21

8 - Zenit Kazan v Taichung Bank on October 21

33-31 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

31-29 - Bolívar v Trentino on October 23

30-28 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

27-25 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

26-24 - Sada Cruzeiro v Zenit Kazan on October 20

235 - Trentino v Bolívar on October 23

221 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

185 - Sada Cruzeiro v Zenit Kazan on October 20

180 - Taichung Bank v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 20

178 - Bolívar v Minas Tenis Clube on October 21