Press release
Japan score major upset in opening day at Rio
Japan celebrate their emotional victory over host and defending champions Brazil on Monday night at Maracanazinho Gymnasium
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 1, 2011 – The opening day of the 2011 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship saw Japan scoring a major upset by defeating host Brazil in a five–set thriller by score of 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 18-16 on Monday night at Maracanazinho Gymnasium.
The top FIVB world-ranked men’s teams in the combined Junior and Youth categories all opened with victories -with the exception of Tunisia and the home side as the event got underway in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi.
The No. 1 Argentina scored a 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-17) over Puerto Rico and second-placed Russia rolled to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16 and 25-13) win over No. 10 Egypt. Fourth-ranked Iran beat Canada 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20), fifth-placed Serbia gunned down Belgium 25-21, 25-15, 25-16 and No. 7 India edged Germany in four sets 19-25, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-20.
The United States team, currently ranked ninth, defeated Bulgaria in straight sets (25-22, 25-18, 25-21) while No. 11 Spain blanked No. 8 Tunisia 25-14, 25-18, 25-17 in the first day of action.
Pool A
United States 3, Bulgaria 0
The United States became the first team to win a match in Pool A as the American side defeated Bulgaria in straight sets to collect their first three points in the tournament. The team coached by John Hawks IV won 25-22, 25-18 and 25-21.
American wing spiker Taylor Sander topped the scorers with 15 points. Bulgarian outside hitter Nikolay Penchev helped his team with 11 points. The winners out blocked the defeated side 11-6 with Dylan Davis registering four blocks.
Japan 3, Brazil 2
Japan was responsible for the major upset of the first day as the Asian team surprised defending champion and host Brazil. The Japanese won 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25 and 18-16) in the teams’ first match in the Pool A of the tournament. With the win, the Japanese are second placed in the group, with two points, after the United States, which scored three. Brazil collected one point with the five-set loss, while Bulgaria has no points.
Japanese opposite Takashi Dekita led all scorers, with 27 points, five more than Brazilian outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli.
Pool B
Argentina 3, Puerto Rico 1
Argentina and Puerto Rico played the opening match of Niteroi despite Puerto Rico’s fatigue from the long journey they had to make to Brazil. Argentina took advantage of Puerto Rico’s jet lag to take a comeback victory, 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-19 and 25-17) in Pool B.
Puerto Rico was hurt by 39 team errors while Argentina only committed 18. Puerto Rico’s Steven Morales led all scorers with 19 points, including 18 kills. Ivan Castellani paced Argentina with 16 points on 13 kills, two blocks and one ace.
Spain 3, Tunisia 0
Spain proved too powerful for Tunisia and won their match, 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-17) in the second Pool B match of the day. Spain led in spikes 37-23 and in blocks 11-5. It held a narrow edge in service aces, 7-6.
Spain’s Jorge Almansa led all scorers with 15 points on 12 spikes, one block and two aces. Francisco Ruiz added 13 points on 12 attacks and one ace. Racem Siala paced Tunisia with 10 points on eight kills and two blocks.
Pool C
India 3, Germany 1
Seventh world-ranked, India reacted after a bad start and managed to achieve its first win. The Asian side defeated Germany 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-20) and collected their first three points in Pool C.
Despite the defeat, German opposite Simon Hirsch led all scorers with 31 points. Indian opposite Dhanabalan Selvaprabhu scored 17 points while T.D. Ravikkumar added 15 points. The German team committed 33 errors to 20 by India.
Russia 3, Egypt 0
Second-seeded Russia confirmed the expectations and prevailed over Egypt in the other match of Pool C in Rio de Janeiro. The European defeated the 10th seeded African squad in straight sets (25-16, 25-16 and 25-13). With the result, Russia shares the lead of the group with India, with three points each.
Russian wing-spiker Leonid Shchadilov was the main scorer of the match, with 15 points next to Andrey Kolesnik who charted 12 points. Egyptian captain Moustafa Idris scored 10 points. Russia held a 13-2 margin in the blocking element.
Pool D
Iran 3, Canada 0
Canada had many friends and family in the crowd for support, but in the end, Iran’s hard-hitting attack proved to be too much and won, 3–0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20).
Errors played a big part in Canada’s loss as it committed 30 while Iran committed 22. The teams were close to even in successful attacks, with Iran leading 31-30. But Iran’s serving was powerful and it led in aces 6-1. Iran also led in blocking 8-5.
Serbia 3, Belgium 0
Serbia used long runs of points to defeat Belgium, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-16) in the final match of the first day in Niteroi.
Serbia’s Aleksandar Atanasijevic led all scorers with 16 points on 12 spikes, two blocks and two aces. Sam Deroo paced Belgium with 11 points on 11 successful attacks.
Serbia dominated the statistics with a 41-30 lead in spikes, an 11-6 lead in blocks and a 5-1 lead in service aces.
Highest Scorer by Day
Day 1 (August 1): 31 points by Simon Hirsch (Germany) in the 3-1 loss to India
Top Scoring Performances
31 – Simon Hirsch (Germany) in the 3-1 loss to India on August 1
27 – Takashi Dekita (Japan) in the 3-2 victory over Brazil on August 1
22 – Ricardo Souza (Brazil) in the 3-2 loss to Japan on August 1
19 – Steven Morales (Puerto Rico) in the 3-1 loss to Argentina on August 1
17 – Dhanabalan Selvaprabhu (India) in the 3-1 victory over Germany on August 1
Top Blocking Performances
5 – Igor Filippov (Russia) in the 3-0 victory over Egypt on August 1
5 – Srecko Lisinac (Serbia) in the 3-0 victory over Belgium on August 1
4 – Federico Franetovich (Argentina) in the 3-1 victory over Puerto Rico on August 1
4 – Borja Ruiz (Spain) in the 3-0 victory over Tunisia on August 1
4 – Pablo Bugallo (Spain) in the 3-0 victory over Tunisia on August 1
4 – Dylan Davis (United States) in the 3-0 victory over Bulgaria on August 1
Top Service Ace Performances
3 – Andrey Kolesnik (Russia) in the 3-0 victory over Egypt on August 1
3 – Jorge Lopez (Puerto Rico) in the 3-1 loss to Argentina on August 1
3 – Hatem Obba (Tunisia) in the 3-1 loss to Spain on August 1
3 – Yamato Fushimi (Japan) in the 3-2 victory over Brazil on August 1
Highest Set Score
25-23 (India versus Germany) in first round played on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
25-23 (Puerto Rico versus Argentina) in first round played on August 1 in Niteroi
25-22 (USA versus Bulgaria) in first round played on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
25-21 (India versus Germany) in first round played on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
25-21 (United States versus Bulgaria) in first round on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
25-21 (Brazil versus Japan) in first round on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
25-21 (Serbia versus Belgium) in first round on August 1 in Niteroi
Highest Scoring Matches
216- Japan def. Brazil 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 18-16 in first round on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
183 – India def. Germany 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20 in first round on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
176 – Argentina def. Puerto Rico 23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-17 in first round on August 1 in Niteroi
136 – United States def. Bulgaria 25-22, 25-18, 25-21 in first round on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
133 – Iran def. Canada 25-19, 25-19, 25-20 in first round on August 1 in Niteroi
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