PVL: Bengaluru Torpedoes were little bit ‘apprehensive’ and ‘scared’ at times, says coach David Lee after losing final

Kochi:  Olympic Champion and Bengaluru Torpedoes Head Coach David Lee has admitted that his team was a “little bit apprehensive” in the finals of Prime Volleyball League (PVL) against Ahmedabad Defenders here at the Regional Sports Centre.

Ahmedabad Defenders clinched the trophy in the second season of PVL with a 15-7, 15-10, 18-20, 13-15, 15-10 win over the Bengaluru Torpedoes on Sunday. It was Ahmedabad’s second consecutive final, having lost the first one against Kolkata Thunderbolts last season.

The Bengaluru Torpedoes Head Coach feels Ahmedabad Defenders had an edge over his side because the team from Gujarat was playing its second final.

“Experience of playing the final gives an edge, my guys were little bit apprehensive, a little bit scared at times and that was little bit apprehensive at times in the finals,” David Lee told IANS.

“During the season they (Bengaluru Torpedoes) were pretty fearless, going into the third set (in the PVL finals), the comeback they had I’m really proud of the way they fought but Ahmedabad played better than us. Bengaluru should be really proud of how they played this year,” he added.

David Lee, a three-time Olympian, who is regarded as one of the best volleyball players of the modern generation, wants Bengaluru Torpedoes to improve on all the technicalities and go the next step further in the third season.

“The biggest learning we can take away from this season is making a commitment as an individual player to have better ball control, to have a better pass to better settings, better defense. We had a lot of setting errors and that’s one of the biggest issues,” said David Lee.

“We are ready for the third season, we are a young team, the team we just played has been in the finals last year. They understand pressure, the experience of playing final for my team is huge and we will get better next year,” he added.

Pankaj, the captain of Bengaluru Torpedoes, said due a slight mistake in the crunch situation of the match, turned the match in favour of Ahmedabad Defenders.

“We had a good tournament, we lost two matches at the beginning but we made a good comeback after rectifying the mistakes. The final was a good match, here also we made a comeback but due to a slight mistake we lost the fifth set and hence the final,” Pankaj told IANS.

After the finals, players of Bengaluru Torpedoes, got a “Guard of Honour” from Ahmedabad Defenders before receiving their medals as the second season of the Prime Volleyball League came to an end.

–IANS