Press release

Bahia Blanca, Argentina, August 29, 2011 – Serbia remained as title holders of the FIVB Boys' Youth World Championship by prevailing in a thrilling five-set battle 3-2 (25-23, 25-19, 28-30, 16-25, 15-11) against a relentless Spain on Sunday in Bahia Blanca.

Serbia maintained a perfect record in this age-group tournament for athletes under 19 years of age with two gold medals in two appearances in the history of the competition. To achieve the first one two years ago, they also had to go to five sets to edge Iran in Jesolo, Italy.

The Serbian team played consistent volleyball throughout the event, dropping only one contest to Iran in the first round, en route to an overall mark of 7-1. Three players from the 2009 edition –Uros Kovacevic, Cedomir Stankovic and Sinisa Zarkovic- were also members of the squad that won in 2011.

"I can’t compare this gold medal with the one we won in Italy because I injured my neck in the second set of that match,” Most Valuable Player Kovacevic said. “I don’t have words to describe my feelings now. It is great honor for our nation.”

“It was a real final between the two best teams in the tournament,” Serbian coach Milan Djuricic said. “Congratulations to my team and also to Spain.”

The silver medal is the best position ever for Spain with its previous best a fifth place in the 2009 edition in Italy.

“Congratulations to Serbia because they played better than us,” Spain coach Ricardo Maldonado said. “In the key moments they were better and that’s what really matters, who can play well in the clutch.”

In the match for the bronze medal, Cuba cruised to a straight-set win over France by score of 25-18, 25-17, 25-21.

It was the first medal ever for Cuba in this age-group category for athletes under 19 years old. The team has participated now five times, and twice -1995 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and 1997 in Tehran, Iran- finished in the ninth position.

“I want to congratulate my team because they could overcome last night loss (against Spain) and we have worked hard before coming here,” Cuban Coach Rodolfo Sanchez said. “I hope my players can get a good experience out of this competition.”

“Thanks to Argentinean fans for their support and I want to say that the organization was great, France coach Jean-Manuel Leprovost said. “The match we lost against Serbia made us tired for this match against Cuba.”

The individual awards

Most Valuable Player: Uros Kovacevic (SRB)
Best Scorer: Andres Villena (ESP)
Best Spiker: Lazaro Fundora (CUB)
Best Blocker: Alejandro Vigil (ESP)
Best Server: Yordan Bisset (CUB)
Best Setter: Antoine Brizard (FRA)
Best Receiver: Ramiro Nuñez (ARG)
Best Libero: Richard Quentin (FRA)

Gold Medal

Serbia 3, Spain 2
Serbia outdueled a relentless Spain in a memorable five-setter (25-23, 25-19, 28-30, 16-25, 15-11) to retain the crown of the FIVB Boy’s Youth World Championship on Sunday night at Gimnasio Osvaldo Casanova in Bahia Blanca. Serbia’s threesome of Uros Kovacevic, Luka Medic and Milan Katic finished with 28, 20 and 18 points respectively. Spain’s Andres Villena had an astonishing tournament-high 48 points and Miguel Fornes charted 11 for the defeated side.

Bronze Medal

Cuba 3, France 0
Cuba claimed the bronze medal after a one-side victory in straight sets (25-18, 25-17, 25-21) over France. Yordan Bisset and Lazaro Fundora with 19 and 17 points respectively were once again the top guns of the Caribbean side. Cuba had the advantage 8-5 in blocks and 5-0 in aces. In a sub-par performance for France team, Soane Falafala was tops with 15 tallies and Trevor Clevenot finished with 11.

Places 5-6

Argentina 3, Bulgaria 0
Argentina outclassed Bulgaria in straight sets (25-20, 25-11, 25-19) to claim fifth place on Sunday. Gonzalo Quiroga and Gonzalo Lapera registered 19 and 13 points respectively to lead an Argentina team that overwhelmed the opponents 8-1 in the serving aces category. None Bulgarian player reached double figures in the charts with Stanislav Velichkov finishing with nine points.

Places 7-8

Greece 3, China 0
Greece blanked China 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-16) in the match for seventh place on Sunday morning. Rafail Koumentakis was tops in the scores with 16 points all in attacks while Menelaos Kokkikanis and Georgios Tzioumakas each had three aces and 12 points. China’s Zhimin Leng was the leader for China with nine.

Places 9-10

Brazil 3, Iran 2
In an electrifying match, Brazil earned an astonishing victory over Iran by 3-2 (39-37, 26-28, 26-24, 18-25, 15-11) and notched the ninth place as the best qualified team in the Almirante Brown venue. Brazil had in Joao Ferreira its best player, with 26 points, including the final one. Alan Souza supported him well with 21 kills. For the Asian side, gunners Javad Hosseinabadi and Pourya Fayazi charted 27 points apiece.

Places 11-12

United States 3, Egypt 1
In a pulsating game, USA seized the 11th place after a 3-1 (29-27, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20) victory over the extremely popular Egypt. Islam Abdelkader and Mohamed Masoud were the two main actors in the Egyptian side, registering 19 and 15 points respectively. USA based the victory on the entrances of Gregory Petty and Cody Caldwell, with 14 an 13 points, and also in a better blocking, with a 13-7 advantage.

Places 13-14

Russia 3, Korea 1
Russia reached a final ranking of 13th after seeing off Korea in four sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-27, 25-15) in both teams' farewell from Argentina. Soviet cannons Konstantin Gavrilov and Alexey Tertyshnikov powered through the match with 18 points apiece. Meanwhile, teammates Ilya Nikitin and Vladimir Chivel were the pilars of a huge Russian advantage in the blocking department, adding 7 points each for a mighty total of 20 stuffs. For the losing side, Gyeong-Bok Na led the scorers with 15 kills.

Places 15-16

Puerto Rico 3, Tunisia 1
Breaking its dry spell in the final match of the tournament, Puerto Rico achieved its first win by defeating Tunisia in four sets (26-24, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23) to finish in the 15th place of the final ranking. Puerto Rican star Ángel Pérez led the winning team, scoring 20 points, followed by Carlos Acosta with 15 and Emanuel Romero and Giovanni Llinás with 13 apiece. Tunisia's Malek Chekir also had 13.

Top 5 Scoring Matches
249 – Brazil def. Iran 39-37, 26-28, 26-24, 18-25, 15-11 in the match Places 9-10 on August 28 in Almirante Brown
245 – United States def. Egypt 25-16, 25-21, 27-29, 34-36, 17-15 in first round on August 19 in Almirante Brown
217 – Serbia def. Spain 25-23, 25-19, 28-30, 16-25, 15-11 in Gold Medal match on August 28 in Bahia Blanca
216 – Cuba def. Brazil 21-25, 19-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-13 in first round on August 20 in Almirante Brown
215 – China def. Tunisia 26-24, 21-25, 25-27, 25-21, 15-8 in first round on August 19 in Bahia Blanca
215 - Cuba def. Korea 24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13 in first round on August 21 in Almirante Brown