Florence, Italy, September 17, 2018 – On Monday, Argentina edged Slovenia in an epic five-set evening battle at Mandela Forum in Florence.
Julio Velasco, Argentina head coach: “It was a beautiful match, well played by both teams; we were able to remain always committed and focused and we deserved our reward. Tomorrow we expect another tough match.”
Cristian Poglajen, player of Argentina: “It was a very close game; we had the goal of taking at least two points, ideally three. The key to success was the service and defence. Personally, I think I improved the level of my performance as the match progressed.”
Slobodan Kovac, Slovenia head coach: “Each team had to sweat to get every point. We tried to create problems to the Argentinean setter, and sometimes we succeeded in doing so. We are ready to deal with Italy tomorrow, every game is extremely important because we take the points to the second round.”
Tine Urnaut, captain of Slovenia: “It was a tough match, after leading we were a little tired and the opponents played the tiebreak without making a mistake, therefore we just have to congratulate them.”