Incredible drama sets up Bronze League finals

Caen, France, 2 December 2023 – An amazing day of twists and turns at every match and every set confirmed Sunday’s finalists at the 2023 Sitting Volleyball Men’s European Bronze Nations League here Saturday.

First of all Estonia, who started the day winless, but collected to remarkable wins – both in tie-breaks, over Georgia in the morning and then over defending champions Czechia in the early afternoon.

That secured them a spot in Sunday’s bronze medal match, but they did still harbour secret hopes that a weird combination of results could actually see them in the grand final itself.

And every single piece of the puzzle fell into place exactly as Estonia wanted it:

First, hosts France blew a match point at 2-0 and 24-23 against Georgia to miss their own chance at a straight set win that would have seen them overtake Estonia in the standings.

Then, Georgia forced a tie-break but failed to complete the comeback that would have seen them in the final in place of Estonia.

All the while, the Netherlands were cruising along with wins over France and Czechia that had them finish top of the table as the only unbeaten side of the tournament (indeed, two wins ahead of anyone else).

POOL PLAY FINAL STANDINGS
1. The Netherlands, 4 wins
2. Estonia, 2 wins (9-10 sets for 0.9)
3. France, 2 wins (8-10 sets for 0.8)
4. Georgia, 1 win (7-9 sets for 0.7)
5. Czechia, 1 win (5-11 sets for 0.4)

SUNDAY SCHEDULE
(all times local, GMT +1)
09:00 – Bronze medal: France v Georgia
11:00 – Final: The Netherlands v Estonia

Source: ParaVolley Europe