Press release
Four teams secure tickets to top-eight bracket
Serbia's players celebrate their five-set victory over Iran at Caio Martins Gymnasium in Niteroi
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 2, 2011 – Teams of Spain, Argentina, Russia and Serbia grabbed tickets to the top bracket of the 2011 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship following their second victories in the first round-robin of the four-pool event.
In Group B, Spain played a demolition derby against Puerto Rico winning 25-7, 25-15, 25-18 in just over one hour, while Argentina defeated Tunisia 25-17, 25-23, 25-22. In Group C, Russia scored a 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 victory over India and Serbia came back from two sets down to edge Iran 23-25, 22-25, 30-28, 25-18, 15-13.
In Group A, Japan won a five-set duel with Bulgaria also erasing a two-set initial deficit to prevail 20-25, 20-25, 33-31, 25-18, 15-11, while host Brazil claimed the victory in a must-win situation 25-19, 21-15, 25-23, 25-19 over United States.
In the other two matches on Tuesday, Belgium defeated Canada 25-23, 25-22, 25-17 in Group D, while Egypt recorded an important 26-24, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23 victory over Germany in Group C.
After two days of action, all the four teams in Pool A –Brazil, Japan, United States and Bulgaria- still have a chance of making the exclusive circle of the best eight teams, with Bulgaria just considered as a long shot in case of a three-way tie in second place.
Live scoring, results, news and photos on FIVB Volleyball Men's Junior World Championship Brazil 2011.
Pool A
Japan 3, Bulgaria 2
One day after defeating Brazil in five sets, Japan repeated the script to overcome Bulgaria for the same score on its second match in FIVB Men´s Junior World Championship. Playing at Maracanazinho Gymnasium, in Rio de Janeiro, the Asian turned around to defeat the European 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 33-31, 25-18 and 15-11) in another thrilling match. Still unbeaten, Japan has now four points in Pool A, while the Bulgarian scored their first point.
Japanese opposite Takashi Dekita had a superb offensive performance by registering a tournament-high 47 points. Outside hitter Nikolay Penchev and opposite Jani Jeliazkov topped Bulgarian players with 24 and 23 points, respectively.
Brazil 3, United States 1
Defending champion and host Brazil recovered from a bad start and gave their fans something to cheer about with the squad’s first win in Rio de Janeiro. The home team defeated the United States 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-23 and 25-19) in its second outing in Pool A.
With the three points earned with the win, Brazil shares the group’s lead with Japan as both South American and Asian sides have four points now. The United States, with three points, and Bulgaria, with one, still keep chances of advancing for the second round. American outside hitter Taylor Sander led all scorers with 20 points, followed by teammate Maurice Torres and Brazilian wing spiker Ricardo Lucarelli, who scored 19 each.
Pool B
Spain 3, Puerto Rico 0
Spain easily defeated Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-7, 25-15, 25-18) to pick up their second Pool B victory on Tuesday at Caio Martins Gymnasium in Niterói. The Spaniards next play against Argentina on Wednesday.
Spain took advantage of its opponent’s mistakes, earning 21 points on the match, while Puerto Rico only had nine points from Spanish mistakes. Jorge Almansa led all scorers with 17 points on 15 attacks and two blocks. On the Puerto Rico side, Steven Morales scored seven points, all from attacks.
Argentina 3, Tunisia 0
Argentina held off Tunisia (25-17, 25-23, 25-22) on Tuesday in the second morning match, setting up a showdown with undefeated Spain on Wednesday morning for supremacy in Pool B. Tunisia held leads in both the second and third sets against Argentina, but mistakes and strong play from the South Americans led to the Africans’ defeat.
Tunisia’s Mohamed Arbi Ben Abdallah led all scorers with 15 points on 12 spikes, two blocks and one ace. Martin Ramos led Argentina with 11 points on 10 attacks and one block.
Pool C
Egypt 3, Germany 1
Africa’s representative Egypt achieved its first win as the tenth world-ranked team overcame Germany 3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 22-25 and 25-23) at Maracanazinho Gymnasium. With the result, Egypt gets its first three points in Pool C of the tournament, while the German team remained pointless.
With 18 points, including a remarkable total of 11 blocks, Egyptian middle blocker Mohamed El Askolany was the top scorer of the match. German captain Björn Höhne contributed to his team with 16 points, while opposite Simon Hirsch scored 14.
Russia 3, India 0
Russia became the first team of the Pool C qualified for the second round of the tournament as the European side achieved their second win on Tuesday. The second seeded team in Youth and Junior World ranking, defeated India in straight sets (25-23, 25-17 and 25-18).
Russian impressive performance was led by opposite Andrey Kolesnik, who was the top scorer of the match, with 15 points, next to outside hitter Oleg Tsentalovich, who charted 14. India’s most prominent player was wing spiker Jhon Christopher with 13.
Pool D
Belgium 3, Canada 0
Belgium used a balanced performance to defeat Canada 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-17) in the first match of Pool D on Tuesday. Francois Lecat and Sam Deroo registered 17 and 12 points respectively to lead the winners’ offense while Tommy Belisle had 10 points for the losing side.
The victory allows Belgium to stay in contention for one of the top two places in the pool and the eventual ticket to the next stage. Belgium held the advantage in blocks (8-4) and service aces (4-2).
Serbia 3, Iran 2
Serbia scored a sensational comeback to defeat Iran 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 30-28, 25-28, 15-13) and to secure a spot in the top eight group of the competition. The Serbians have five points.
Aleksandar Atanasijevic totaled 38 points and Uros Kovacevic added 20 to lead the winners’ attack. Iranian Pourya Fayazi and Saeid Shirood finished with 23 and 15 points respectively.
Highest Scorer by Day
Day 1 (August 1): 31 points by Simon Hirsch (Germany) in the 3-1 loss to India
Day 2 (August 2): 47 points by Takashi Dekita (Japan) in the 3-2 victory over Bulgaria
Top Scoring Performances
47 – Takashi Dekita (Japan) in the 3-2 victory over Bulgaria on August 2
38 – Aleksandar Atanasijevic (Serbia) in the 3-2 victory over Iran on August 2
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
24 – Nikolay Penchev (Bulgaria) in the 3-2 loss to Japan on August 2
23 – Jani Jeliazkov (Bulgaria) in the 3-2 loss to Japan on August 2
Top Blocking Performances
11- Mohamed El Askolany (Egypt) in the 3-1 victory over Germany on August 2
7 – Ventsislav Ragin (Bulgaria) in the 3-2 loss to Japan on August 2
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
5 – Fushimi Yamato (Japan) in the 3-2 victory over Bulgaria on August 2
Top Service Ace Performances
4 – Andrey Kolesnik (Russia) in the 3-0 victory over India on August 2
4 – Uros Kovacevic (Serbia) in the 3-2 victory over Iran on August 2
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
33-31 (Japan versus Bulgaria) in first round on August 2 in Rio de Janeiro
30-28 (Serbia versus Iran) in first round on August 2 in Niteroi
26-24 (Egypt versus Germany) in first round on August 2 in Rio de Janeiro
Highest Scoring Matches
224 – Serbia def. Iran 23-25, 22-25, 30-28, 25-18, 15-13 in first round on August 2 in Niteroi
223 – Japan def. Bulgaria 20-25, 20-25, 33-31, 25-18, 15-11 in first round on August 2 in Rio de Janeiro
216 - Japan def. Brazil 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 18-16 in first round on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
190 - Egypt def. Germany 26-24, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23 in first round on August 2 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
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