Yoandy Leal goes up against the triple block of Sesi Sao Paulo as Sada Cruzeiro remain undefeated in Brazil's Superleague.
Lausanne, Switzerland, December 11, 2016 - Twice they led and twice they were equalised, but Yoandy Leal rose to the occasion and led reigning FIVB men's club world champions Sada Cruzeiro of Contagem to an immense five-set away win at Vila Lepoldina over Sesi Sao Paulo in the Brazilian Superleague over the weekend.
The 28-year-old Cuban-born outside hitter scored 22 points and was voted MVP of the big game, countering the 22 and 21 points of Theo Lopes and Douglas Souza respectively for the home side. Sesi Sao Paulo outblocked (13 blocks to 10) and outserved (12 aces to 6) but conceeded as many as 41 unforced errors (to 33).
The win sees Sada Cruzeiro break away at the top of the standings on 26 points from 9 games as they remain undefeated. The defending champions are now six points clear of second-placed Sesi Sao Paulo, for whom this was the second defeat in the season.
Lube continue victorious in ItalyIn Italy, meanwhile, table leaders Cucine Lube Civitanova opened the second half of the Regular Season in the UnipolSai Superleague with a solid 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-20) win at home over Gi Group Monza led by 13 points each from Bulgaria's Tsvetan Sokolov and Germany's Denys Kaliberda, plus another 12 each from Osmany Juantorena and Serbia's Dagan Stankovic.
Defending champions Azimut Modena remain close on Lube's heels, two points behind in the standings, after France's Earing Ngapeth scored 13 points and Jacopo Massari served 5 aces in their 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-18) sweep of Biosi Indexa away in Sora.
Diatec Trentino, bronze medallists of the 2016 FIVB Club World Championship earlier this year in Betim, dropped further behind in third place of the table, after blowing a two-set lead and losing 3-2 (17-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-7) to Tonno Callipo Calabria in Vibo Valentia. Slovakia's Peter Michalovic led Vibo Valentia with 23 points. Filippo Lanza was Trentino's best scorer with 15.
Zenit prepare for last title of the yearThe Russian Superleague took a break this weekend, as six teams prepared to vie for the last title of the year, in the Final Six of the "Konstantin Reva" Russian Cup, starting Monday in Surgut.
The local side of Gazprom-Yugra host defending cup holders and 2016 FIVB Club World Championship silver medallists Zenit Kazan, plus Dinamo Moscow, Belogorie Belgorod, Fakel Noy Urengoy and Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in the week-long competition which culminates with the final on 17 December.
The competition is named after Konstantin Reva (1921-1997) a two-time FIVB World Champion with the Soviet Union (1949 and 1952).
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