Pseudo CUPA RO (M) FINALA I The Rise of Dinamo (M) Dinamo Bucuresti –…

Pseudo CUPA RO (M) FINALA I The Rise of Dinamo

(M) Dinamo Bucuresti – SCM U Craiova 3 – 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-16)

It was in the end a straight forward return to being Cup holders for Dinamo in a what was anything but a straight forward match.

A Quantum of Solace emerged for SCM as they won the coin toss. It wasn’t actually a coin toss, the referee still reeling from his semi final run in with a local magpie, decide to hide the coin in hand and place both behind his back, asking the SCM captain to choose a hand.

The first set was exciting and entertaining, worthy of a cup final. Dinamo’s setter Despotovski was mesmerising the opposition block and had total control over the ball and where he wanted to send it. There was no doubt he was master of the house. SCM blockers were like puppets on strings, jumping at the beck and call of Dinamo, not having a clue who was going to be getting the ball until it was too late.
Milhalcea was taking the ball to Spike Town, with free net after free net.
The most amazing thing about the set victory wasn’t the volleyball though, it was Dinamo’s kit. The team kit had been picked up from the dry cleaners by the captain of the junior team on the morning of the match and packed in the the bus.
Unfortunately the young man had taken the wrong ticket from the table at home and so when the players were sat in the dressing room, there was a moment of horrified silence as the bag was opened.
Needless to say there was pseudo gasps as the players made their way to court wearing cioareci, hemp camasa’s, chimur and brau with pieptars.

The second set was a battle of the outside hitters – Dinamo’s Maia and Craiova’s Suson. Both passed well and hit well. It soon became a contest of “whatever you can do, I can better” Maia passed a ball with one hand, stretching to touch a belting jump serve from Olteanu. Suson passed a ball off his left shoulder. Maia closed his eyes and made a perfect pass, Suson did a scorpion kick made famous by Rene Higuita, Colombia’s crazy goalkeeper of the 90’s. it went wrong for Suson though at 20 all when he decided he could do a Nadia Comăneci, and flikflak his was across the court to make a reception. It was no perfect 10 for Suson, who over fliked and ended up in the bleachers, having taken out the second referee in the process.
Suson was substituted and that ended Craiova’s chance of taking the set. Dinamo running out 25- 20 set winners.

The third set was as it turned out even easier for Dinamo as with Suson out of action Craiova’s passing unit was constantly putting the team out of system. At best they had two hitting options at worst one. That meant Lupo was ploughing an empty furrow through the middle and subsequently went to sit with a floor cleaner as he felt he would be useful there.
Lupu was having to try and rescue Craiova, but he was up against a huge wall of Dinamo blockers, that was so big it could be seen from space. As Lupu became ever more frustrated he decided it was time to go hard or go home. He went hard alright, straight into the block, the ball came back and caught him in the face, leaving a severe red rash like mark, which in a certain light looked like a wolf’s bite!
Match point was the epitome of showboating for Dinamo. A quadruple quick as three front row players ran their routes fast and furious with the pipe running at the same speed in between the A and the E.
That left Leite the middle blocker who had stayed on to pass after his serve run came to end, to steal in on the 10 for a free net. He duly hit the snot out of the ball, bouncing it inside the 3 metre line and up into the night sky. Dinamo, the cup winners for the second year in a row.

Yes, the match was played in the car park of Pitesti’s local supermarket as the main sport hall was locked and the janitor who had the key was stuck in Sumgat., Turkmenistan twinned city with Pitesti, after going on a cultural exchange with a 13 friends from the local historical society. The group were in good spirits even though their costumes had gone astray. The bag of kit turned out to contain volleyball attire.