The moment of truth has arrived in the top tiers of national volleyball. The playoffs commence with the title at stake, featuring a quarter-final round filled with Canarian derbies. One in the men’s Superliga involves a clash between the Guaguas and the Cisneros. Additionally, there are two matches in the Iberdrola League—one regional battle between Heidelberg Volkswagen and Tenerife Libby’s La Laguna, and another island contest between Hidramar Emalsa and Sayre La Ballena.
In the men’s competition, El Guaguas, the reigning league champion, travels this afternoon to the Juan Ríos Tejera Pavilion (18:00) to face the Alter Tenerife Cisneros for the fourth time this season.
The yellow team, who topped the regular phase, aims to navigate through this best-of-three series swiftly and seeks to make a significant step towards achieving a treble this season after clinching both the Super Cup and the Cup. Meanwhile, their opponent hopes to cause an upset. The yellow squad won 55 out of the 76 sets they played during the 22 league matches, showcasing the impressive performance of Sergio Miguel Camarero’s team.
Regarding the history of their regional meetings, this is the fourth encounter so far this season. In the regular tournament, each team won their home fixture 3-1, while the Grancanarians triumphed in the Copa del Rey match, also by the same scoreline.
Waiter, the coach of the Guaguas, anticipates a “challenging” match in what he describes as a “very difficult” contest. For the yellow coach, the dynamics at the net will be crucial, especially if opposing players like Frac Mateusz or Carlos Nieves find their rhythm.
Turning to the Iberdrola League and the four Canarian teams competing, the quarter-finals kick off this afternoon with the matchup between Tenerife Libby’s La Laguna and the regular league champions, Heidelberg Volkswagen, on Tenerife soil (18:00). The school side aims to continue making history, having been Cup runners-up and now wishing to reach the Liga final. They are eager to secure the first point of the quarter-finals with the hope of completing it at home next weekend.
Meanwhile, tomorrow at the Insular Sports Centre (12:00), the Grancanario derby between Sayre and Hidramar takes place. Overall, the Olympic team has defeated their neighbours twice decisively this season but suffered a surprising defeat in the Queen’s Cup, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
