T&T’s Marc-Anthony Honore’s SL Benfica rebounded from their mid-week defeat on their return to Confederation of European Volleyball (CEV) Men’s Volleyball Champions League with a straight sets win over Vitoria SC to go top of the Portugal Volleyball Federation Men’s Honda A-1 Division on Saturday.
Beaten by Russia's Zenith St Petersburgh in their opening Pool D match of the 2021/2022 CEV Champions League duel, 19-25, 16-25, 23-25 on Wednesday Benfica which will have to cope without the services of the 37-year-old middle-blocker Honore for the rest of the season due to a dislocated shoulder injury, was eager for a win to go top of the table, above idle AJF Bastardo who have a 12-1 win-loss record and 36 points.
SL Benfica, the reigning two-time Portuguese champions and nine-time league winners overall, did get the win as it overcame the mid-table club, 25-13, 25-22, 25-20 for a 13th straight win at the Vimaranense University Pavilion, in Guimaraes to extend their record to 13-0 and 37 points to end the year on a high.
Benfica will resume its Champions League campaign in February 2022 with back-to-back matches against Serbian club Vojvodina Seme Novi Sad on February 6 and 16.
In the other CEV Champions League Pool D match on Wednesday last, Germany’s Berlin Recycling Volleys defeated Serbias’ Vojvodina Seme Novi Sad 26-24, 25-16, 25-21.
Honore started the season in good form for Benfica but suffered a shoulder dislocation during one of their CEV qualifiers last month.
The T&T stand-out had successful surgery on the shoulder on Friday last and according to Honore who has also played professionally in Germany and Brazil, he is expected to be immobilized for the next six weeks after which he will have to undergo four to five months of rehabilitation.
Last month, Benfica secured their spot in the 2021/2022 Champions League group stages with a four-set win at CEZ Karlovarsko in the Czech Republic.
Beaten at home in the Third Round first-leg encounter by CEZ Karlovarsko 16-25, 22-25, 25-22, 28-26, 12-15 to end a 16-match winning streak in all competitions, Benfica needed to win by a 3-0 or 3-1 to advance automatically.
And the Portuguese after losing the first set, 20-25, rallied to take the next three sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 to claim the home-and-away tie 5-4 on aggregate.
In the other semifinal, Hebar Pazardzhik battled past host Olympiacos VC 21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23 to complete a 6-2 aggregate triumph after winning win at home 26-24, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23 in the first-leg.
Hebar Pazardzhik now joins Jastrzebski Wegiel (Poland), VFB Friedrichshafen (Germany), and Belgium’s Knack Roeselare in Pool A.
The other pools will see Dynamo Moscow, Ziraat Bankasi Ankara, Greenyard Maaseik and Projekt in D; Cucine Lube Civitanova, ZAKSA Kedzieryn-Kozie, Merkur Maribor and Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in C and Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, Fenebarche HDI Istanbul, AS Cannes Dragons and Itas Trentino in Pool E.