Tim u said good thing, Heynen's decision to put subs in 3rd set completely distracted Polish players, even surprised Antiga and his staff. That's why I admire Heynen, he is great coach but also psychologist. It was great to see Hirsch, Strobach, P.Steuerwald outplaying Kubiak, Kurek etc..
Somehow i feel, that Antiga today went into Heynens trap. Polish starters looked really ennoyed when Heynen began his substitutions and somehow completely lost focus. Then he subbed as well and somehow these guys did even better (until fifth set)...
But lets give some praise to german benchers as well. Hirsch really looks like a good promise to the future. The way he played the fifth set was sublime. Strohbach should change club/league after this season if he wants to improve further and reach international level. If he only wants, he can get there.
I agree with your comments. German "2nd team" played very well and without any pressure (and/or too high expectation).
Now we'll see how each team is prepared for real fight and ... stress.