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Serbia without Atanasijevic, but with great motivation

Poland have once again, in a little over a month, made a comeback from 0-2 against France. This win will give them confidence, but Serbia also have their own calculations

Poland recorded a five set win after a thriller. It was 0-2 after the first two sets, Poland seemed bad, and then Antiga started make substitutions. Bienek came in, later Mika which proved to be enough for a comeback, with the amazing support from the stands. 

- The game was as difficult as it usually is against France. We didn't give up and surrender even at 0-2 so the hard work paid off. We spent a lot of energy today, and we have another difficult match tomorrow - said selector Antiga. 

So, for the second time, in a little over a month, Poland made a comeback after 0-2 against France, which is not easy, and not by accident either, because they have shown mental strength. 

Konarski led Poland with 20 points, Klos recorded 13, but their real hero is Mika who recorded 12 points in a little over a set on the court. 

- I congratulate my players on the win, especially Bianek and Miki who saved us. We don't have a lot of time to rest, we have to forget about France and focus on Serbia - said captain Kubiak. 

Serbia will miss the Olympics, for the first time since Barcelona, and that meant they can maximally focus on the World League. They didn't suffer from the same 'syndrome' as Bulgaria, who were unmotivated and Serbia were the first team, with Poland, to secure a Final Six spot. They were undefeated until the tournament in Tehran, they lost to Iran after leading 2-0, which is a consequence of their relaxing after they secured the Final Six. Their worst game was against Argentina (0-3), but they managed to defeat Italy in the last game and confirm the third position. 

-  We don't have to look at whom we will face in Krakow. We will play against five strongest teams in the World that have qualified for the Olympics and who are better ranked than us. We now have to forget everything that happened, start from the beginning and play in Krakow like we have in the entire World League. I hope that we will have the same team spirit in Krakow - said Nikola Grbic. 

Great atmosphere because of the results and good performances was quickly gone after Aleksandar Atanasijevic, Serbian opposite, announced that he will not be helping his national team at the Final Six. 

- I suffered a stress fracture of tibia, it's as if another bone appeared and I will have to remove it. It's all been going on for two years and it now escalated. The team will have no use from me in this condition, but this is the mos difficult decision I had to make in my career - said Atanasijevic, who will be replaced by Dokic in Krakow, and added:

- I will try to come to Krakow and support my teammates. In my opinion, the atmosphere this year is the best it has ever been in the newer history of the team. 

During the break, Nikic and Jovovic struggled with injuries, but they are both ready for today's match. 

Serbia will be led by receivers and middle-blockers in Krakow, which was the case before as well, because Atanasijevic did not play much, and Luburic is still a bit inexperienced for this level. In the six games of the intercontinental level, Serbia had amazing serve which 'stopped' a bit in Tehran, and they will definitely need it against Poland and France. 

After making it to the Olympics, Poland were reserved in the World League because they already made it to the final tournament since they are the hosts. There were not a lot of rotations in the team because the rules don't allow it. Some matches were thus played without their best players (Kurek, Kubiak, Mika) which explains the weaker results. Yesterday after 0-2 in sets they made a comeback against France which will surely raise their confidence. Today they need to win to make it to the semi-finals, because in case of defeat they could end with the tournament altogether. They shouldn't feel fatigue because coach Antiga yesterday put in a lot of the players from the bench, which is very long and good when it comes to Poland. For Serbia this competition in the pinnacle of the season, because they didn't manage to make it to the Olympics. They started out with full strength when the rest of the teams were still looking for their rhythm. They're the worst team by ranking here, they've been playing the whole season without Petric, and the Final Six will also be without their best player Atanasijevic. They have very good middle blockers, but a lot depends on receivers Kovacevic and Ivovic. The big minus is the opposite where Luburic will stand in for Atanasijevic. Luburic doesn't have the quality nor the experience for this level. Serbia without Atanasijevic against Poland, as a visiting team, can't be at same odds.