Reporter Park Dae-ro = KB Insurance foreign player Nikola Melanyak (23, Serbia), who had expectations that he could replace Keita, the best mercenary ever, who was the MVP of the regular league last season, was released in disgrace.
Men’s professional volleyball KB Insurance is said to have terminated the contract with Nicola and recruited former Korean Air Apposite spiker Andres Villena (Spain). As a result, Nicola left Korea without completing two months.
Ahead of the start of this season, Nicola was chosen as a replacement for Keita Noumori (21) of the ‘Mali Express’ who led the runner-up last season.
Nicola, who played only in Serbia from 2016 until coming to Korea, was not bad. He had an uneasy serve, but was excellent at blocking and had good stamina and destructive power.
Nicola did a great job in the first round. KB Insurance won three consecutive victories from the second round of the first round amidst Nicola’s performance. Nicola was also selected as the MVP of the first round along with Kim Yeon-kyung in the women’s division by ranking 1st in scoring, 2nd in open offense, and 3rd in overall attack in the first round.
The Woori Card match on the 3rd of last month was a match in which Nicola’s momentum was at its peak. Nicola, who scored an individual record of 49 points in the previous match against OK Financial Group on October 30, showed off her good condition in the Woori Card match as well. 토토사이트
At that time, his girlfriend Anastasia (19) from Bosnia and Herzegovina was sitting in the stands of Jangchung Gymnasium, the home stadium of Woori Card.
Nicola, whose physical condition was good, invited Anastasia, who arrived in Korea on October 27, to Jangchung Gymnasium. Nicola even looked at her girlfriend and smiled from time to time during her operation.
Perhaps thanks to her girlfriend who came to support her, Nicola flew like crazy that day. In the match against Woori Card, Nicola scored 32 points (17 in the front, 11 in the back), 3 blocking points and 1 sub ace. After scoring, she roared and celebrated.
After this match, coach Hu In-jeong of KB Insurance expressed satisfaction, saying, “I am not lagging behind any foreign player.”
Coincidentally, Nikola fell into a slump right after this game. As Nikola fell into a slump, KB Insurance also fell into a losing streak.
Nicola had a lot of ups and downs. As he played, his weaknesses were revealed. He made frequent mistakes and had a low attack success rate. There were also many sub rooms. I couldn’t do my part at the decisive moment.
Hu In-jeong, who couldn’t stand it, started taking Nicola out of the warm-up zone from the beginning of this month. Team performance plummeted. Last season’s runner-up team was incredibly lethargic. On the 9th of this month, we lost 8 games down to the home game against Woori Card.
KB Insurance, which fell into a losing streak, eventually kicked out Nikola. Coach Hu In-jeong, who told Nicola before the season opening, “We will go with you to the end whether we do well or not,” terminated the contract with Nicola.
Ironically, in the game where the contract with Nicola was terminated, KB Insurance escaped the crisis of 9 consecutive losses. KB Insurance won 3-1 in an away game against Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in Daejeon on the 13th and tasted victory in about a month.
Hwang Kyung-min scored the most points in the team with 20 points, and Han Seong-jeong and Korea Min scored 15 and 13 points, respectively. Kim Hong-jung and Park Jin-woo added strength by catching 3 blocking side by side.
Attention is focusing on whether KB Insurance, which once sent off Nicola, who quickly cooled down after heating up the Korean volleyball board, will be able to revive with a new foreign player.