Kalamata, Greece, 19 October 2026 – Turkish side Istanbul Genlik survived very tight first and third sets to sweep hosts Kalamata 80 of Greece, finishing undefeated at the 2026 Balkan Men’s Clubs’ Cup here at this seaside city of the southern Peloponnese. The Balkan Cup gold medal come along with a ticket to this season’s CEV Challenge Cup.
Led by tournament MVP Dick Kooy, Istanbul Genlik shut out Kalamata 80 3-0 (30-28, 25-19, 26-24) in the closing match of the four-team round-robin tournament, which had taken on the shape of a final.
It took Istanbul Genclik a total of four set points, while in-between cancelling two of Kalamata 80, to take the first set, with neither team at any point leading by more than two points. Then again in the third Kalamata 80 pushed Istanbul Genlik all the way and cancelled the Turks’ first match point, before Dutch-Italian Kooy served an ace to clinch the game.
Angelos Markou delivered the match high (indeed, tournament high) of 22 points, including 56% (19/34) in attack from the outside, but it was not enough for Kalamata 80. Hungarian Krisztian Padar scored 16 and Kooy added another 14 for Istanbul Genclik, who were overall more powerfull on the block (10 stuffs to 5) and controlled the ball in reception.
Earlier in the day, Metalurg Pernik of Bulgaria outlasted Luboteni Ferizaj 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) to secure third place in the four-team tournament and earn the bronze medal.
Luboteni led the score throughout the second set, but Metalurg made a strong push at the end, including a 6-1 run from 19-21 down, to extend their lead on a clean slate.
Metalurg coach Francesco Mollo brought on all of his subs in the second and third sets as Konstantin Manolev with 11 points and Luboslav Simeonov with 10 led the scoring. However, it was Luboteni’s Rigon Bajrami and Colombian Ronnie Mosquera Galvis who shared the match high of 13 points each.
Luboteni applied some pressure from the service line, but Metalurg were most efficient all around.
