Greece beat Japan 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-23) - duration 1:28
28-Jun, start time: 22:02, end time: 23:30 - Attendance: 3,729 Greece opens World League 2002 with straight-set victory
Greece shut out Japan in straight sets to open its World League 2002 appearance with a wide-enough victory that could prove crucial in the race for a berth in the final eight of the competition. Greece took early leads in the opening two sets and held Japan at a distance throught for a comfortable 2-0 overall victory.
Japan briefly led in the third set, after a 10-minute interval, but Greece kept close enough and took a lead for the first time at 16-15. Greece then continued to a close victory, led by Nikos Roumeliotis as the top scorer (16 points). Greece outserved (6 aces to one) and outblocked Japan (5 stuffs to 2) to achieve its victory, much to the joy of the crowd in the nearly-packed hall in the city of Lamia.
Both head coaches agreed, at the post-match Press-Conference, that Japan played a poor game and Stelios Prosalikas of Greece was astonished at how easily his team achieved its victory.
