Birigui and Chizoba are enjoying a good phase in the French volleyball championship

Brazilian volleyball shows its strength in the 2023/2024 French Men’s Championship at the decisive moment of the dispute for the cup. Victor Birigui, formerly of Sesi and currently at Chaumont, entered the championship team as one of the best pointers and had a great performance in the first clash of the quarter-finals, which began last Tuesday (26). Chizoba, from Nantes, was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Best Opposite Player of the regular season.

Chaumont, from Birigui, took command and started ahead of Paris in a 3-1 win in the best-of-five playoff series on Tuesday. The Brazilian was the top scorer of the match, with 24 hits and 65% attacking success, and won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, in another chapter of a special story he is writing on the stage of the next Olympic Games .

Nantes, qualified in second place, fell behind in the match against Saint-Nazaire, 3-1, despite Chizoba’s 15 points, another who turned the spotlight on the country. The teams will play again next Wednesday (3), both away from home.

Excellent from Chaumont, Birigui, in his first season in France, strengthens Brazil’s presence among the best in the tournament, demonstrating consistency and skill.

“For me it was very nice to receive this recognition. It was something I didn’t expect, even though I had an excellent season. I think the difference was my mentality and my way of training, from the first day I played “I focused a lot on developing my volleyball and set myself the goal of giving 100% every day. In all respects I managed to evolve a little this season,” says Birigui in an interview with Team GM, the company in charge of managing his career for years.

Given the good moment, the 24-year-old player wants to fight for a place in the Brazilian team that will compete at the Paris Olympic Games. Birigui has already defended the adult Brazilian team in the 2018 and 2023 Pan American Cups, when he finished with the silver medal, and in the 2019 South American Championship, in which he was champion.

“One of my biggest goals is to become French champion and, certainly, to wear the Brazilian shirt again, especially in the year of the Olympics. After all, I’m already in France! Jokes aside, one of my biggest dreams is to be Olympic champion” , guarantees Birigui.

In the first stage of the French championship, Chizoba scored 498 points and finished as the second highest scorer. At 26 years old, the player, who has been playing in France since 2019 and has been part of Nantes since 2022, received the MVP and best opposite recognition not only for his excellent offensive performance, but also for his leadership and contribution to the season. collective performance. It is the second consecutive year that he has won the highlights: in 2022 he was still the top scorer.

“This time it was a surprise. I didn’t really count on it and it wasn’t a priority. But I think it was deserved, we played well in the European Cup, we are in the final of the French Cup, and we finished the regular phase of the French Championship in second place with the same number of victories as first place. Collective results influence individual prizes”, underlines Chizoba, satisfied with the level of competition and the choice made in his career to play in the country, in another negotiation mediated by Team GM.

“The word that defines the championship is balance. The level is very balanced from first to last place, which makes every round a real battle! The level gets higher and higher, with many national team players coming to play here. For most partly due to the fact that France is the current Olympic champion”, adds the opposite.