Havana, December 8 (RHC) - Turkey's Halkbank blanked Cuban Miguel Angel Lopez's Brazilian Sada Cruzeiro 3-0 and knocked them out of the semifinals of the Club World Cup in India.
Despite another remarkable performance by Lopez, baptized in Brazil as "the flying Cuban", and the contribution of opposite Wallace, Sada could not contain the Turkish club, led by French star Ngapeth (16 units, 4 in blocking), and Dutchman Nimir (15).
Lopez scored 12 points, which added to his 31 points in the 3-2 win against Suntory Sunbirs of Japan, raised his total to 43 units, 39 in attack, to lead both sections in the Club World Cup, which he already won in 2021 with the bonus of winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy.
The 26-24, 25-18 and 28-26 scores show that the battle on the court was fierce, decided in favor of the Turkish club due to their better numbers in the main aspects of the game: attack, blocking and service.
After the Halkbank-Sada result, the three teams in Group B were even at 1-1, but the tiebreaker favored Japan's Suntory and Halkbank, ahead of the Brazilians, who will watch from the stands the semifinals scheduled for this Saturday.
Sada scored two points and finished last in the group, led by Japan's Suntory Subirs (4) and Turkey's Halkbank (3).
In the other group, reigning champions Perugia of Italy and Itambé Minas of Brazil, both with 3 points, are equal leaders, followed by Defenders of India. Perugia, led by Cuban Jesús Herrera and Polish nationalized Cuban Wilfredo León, are currently playing against Defenders.
