Two days after the Scudetto slipped away, spiker Alex Nikolov, top scorer in Game 3 of the Finals at the Pala Barton Energy in Perugia, spoke to Radio Arancia, media partner of Cucine Lube Civitanova, about his feelings. A guest on the program “7×4,” the red and white athlete answered questions from host Alessandro Ranieri today.
Alex Nikolov (Cucine Lube Civitanova spiker): “My teammates and I are a bit disappointed that we weren’t able to close out the last two matches in our favor, despite being up a set and having a big lead in the second sets. To be clear, we were in control of the situation, both in terms of the score and mentally. Then we dropped off. We’ll work on this in the future. Sir won the title because they were more consistent, but in the series they also suffered at times against our play.
There’s little to analyze technically if we want to find the reasons for the defeat: Perugia’s character and experience made the difference. We may have made a lot of errors from nine meters, but against a team as well-equipped as Sir, you have to force the serve to put them in trouble. It’s the days, months, and years of play, as well as experience in major competitions, that shape teams, especially when there are many young players. Practice is also very useful when you apply pressure and competitiveness in the exercises. So we must continue to work to grow as a team.” This is the team’s destiny!
I’m satisfied with my season with Lube, but not entirely. I showed consistency in my play up until the matches against Perugia. In the final, I didn’t perform to my full potential. However, it was very important for me to maintain such a high level in the Credem Banca SuperLega for so many matches. I’m here to win, and if we don’t, I won’t be satisfied, but I won’t give up.
The knowledge that we’ve qualified for the Champions League and can chase more trophies next year gives us a boost. It must be said that we lost the Scudetto final against a very strong team. Precisely because of the consistency shown throughout the season and in the playoffs, Sir deserved the title.
