Andrea Giani talks to team Slovenia during a time out as team led against Qatar to win in straight sets
Thessaloniki, Greece, June 24, 2016 - Slovenia beat Qatar in straight sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-20) in the opening match of Group 3 - Leg 2 at Alexandrio Melathro Sports Hall, keeping winning streak in this year’s FIVB World League.
Andrea Giani, coach of Slovenia: “It was a difficult match for us. Qatar is a good team, but for us it’s important to focus always on our game. In some part of the first set we made mistakes, but then we found our rhythm, we won the set and after that it was different. When you have a four or five-point lead and you make a mistake, it’s not the same. Tomorrow we will try to reach a good level against Puerto Rico, because every match is important for us”.
Roberto Piazza, coach of Qatar: “It wasn’t our best level today and I’m not so happy, because I know that we can do much, much better. The most important day for us comes tomorrow, against Greece, and I think that my team will be better than today”.
Tine Urnaut, captain of Slovenia: “It was a tough match. The result was 3-0 for us, but in all sets our opponents played good and we had to win some break points in each set in order to turn things around. Then we played better in defense and block and secured the victory. We will do our best to win the next matches, too”.
Ali Bairami, captain of Qatar: “We know that Slovenia is a very strong team, I think the strongest team of our Group. We played well in the first set and in some part of the second set, but other than that we were making silly mistakes and this made the difference in the game. Our mistakes got bigger and bigger and this led to Slovenia’s victory. We hope to play better tomorrow against Greece and have a better result”.