Brabo wins the cup: “We were really looking forward to this final” (Sport)

“It was only logical that we were put forward as favorites,” said Antwerp setter Robin Blondeel. “Because we had won twice against them in a competition and we were also the leader in the first national event, people expected nothing less from us than a win in this final. Especially because we were allowed to play it in our own familiar Arena Hall.”

“To say that this favorite role created extra pressure is a bit of a stretch. It was true that those in charge of the club, who had spared neither time nor effort to organize these finals, were counting on us to be present. And I suspect that they also hoped that we would control the final.”

Something special

“I heard some in volleyball circles be a bit pitiful about the importance of winning this cup. Too bad, but a final is always something special. The atmosphere around it, the supporters who were present en masse, the fact that you are playing for a prize,… All of this means that as a player you absolutely want to play that final and win. We were really looking forward to it and we have been working towards it in recent weeks, without pushing the importance of the competition into the background.”

“We were also pushed and encouraged by our trainer Raf Vekemans. He wants to see good volleyball and has deliberately put pressure on the group to play tonight (Saturday, ed.) to perform optimally. He constantly emphasizes that every match is important to improve as a team. Just hitting a ball is not for him. He wants to see a level every time. According to him, that is the only way to continue to make progress as a group and as a player individually.”

Not automatically

“That drive and motivation to win that cup ensured that we started the final with the right focus. We would like to thank those responsible for the club for the hard work they undertake. I think we have fully succeeded in that,” continues Blondeel, who looks back on the successful cup win with some satisfaction. “We had not lost to them in the competition, but we knew all too well that it would not happen automatically. That we certainly shouldn’t let them come into the match. The start was a bit uneven, but once we were able to impose our service pressure on them, we completed the job fairly quickly in three sets. Sometimes it could have been a bit easier, but in the end only one thing counts: winning.”

The latter did not work for Volley Noorderkempen, but that did not immediately cause sour reflux for Tim Verschueren, player-coach of Volley Noorderkempen. “Of course you start a cup final like this with the intention of winning the cup. You want to perform in that final, but as an athlete you must also be able to recognize that the others were better. Whatever tonight was. Tonight, logic was respected. The best team won. We did our best, but it wasn’t enough to embarrass them. We didn’t immediately find an answer to their attacking strength and we weren’t able to hurt them enough. It would have been nice if we could have picked up a set, but that would have been all it would have taken against this strong block. We tried to provide the necessary resistance, but they did not allow us to do so. We were actually behind the times for the entire match. Every time we closed a gap, they pressed the accelerator and the gap widened again. Yet, despite this loss, we can be satisfied with this final. “