Press release

Doha, Qatar, October 13, 2011 – Jastrzebski Wegiel came back from a 2-1 deficit and 9-6 in the fifth set to defeat Sesi Sao Paulo 25-23, 18-25, 19-25, 25-13, 15-13 on Thursday evening to advance to the FIVB Men’s Club World Championship gold-medal match.

KS Jastrzebski Wegiel Captain Zbigniew Bartman: We are very happy that we were able to come back in the game after the second and third set. We started to play much better and realised that only with team work you can achieve your goal. We all helped each other, especially in the difficult situations. I think that made the difference today. Our team spirit and determination to win was incredible today. Of course we don't deserve all the credits, we have an amazing coach who kept pushing us to fight and told us not to look back but to keep going.

KS Jastrzebski Wiegel Coach Lorenzo Bernardi: First of all I want to thank my players. It's not easy to perform so well when you have only played together for three weeks. I would also like to thank my staff for being there for us 24/7, they have been amazing! Today we lost a lot of energy, not only physically but also mentally. We hope we can recover quickly because we haven't won anything yet. I always tell my players to be confident about our qualities and always have respect for your opponents. It doesn't matter against who we will play tomorrow, it will be a very strong team anyway.

Sesi Sao Paulo Captain Murilo Endres: We are not pleased with today's performance. We lost concentration in the fourth set, but were able to recover in the fifth set. We had a lead for a while, but their counter attacks were too good. I like to congratulate the Polish team with today's victory and I wish them good luck in the finals. I don't know what our chances are tomorrow, but we'll do our best to take the bronze medal home.

Sesi Sao Paulo Coach Giovane Gavio: I would like to congratulate the Polish team for placing themselves in the final. They have showed today that they are a strong team which deserves to win this championship. Today's defeat was definitely caused by too many mistakes on our side. We have to forget this match and think of tomorrow in order to take the bronze medal to Brazil.

For additional information on the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship, click here. For more informaton on the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship, click here. For Daily Bulletins for the tournament, click here.