Brazil Takes Pool D at Men’s U21 World Championship

2017 FIVB MEN’S U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – Pool D

• Pool D
• June 23rd-25th, 2017
• Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
• MU21 World Championship Round 1
• Schedule/Results

Pool D Standings:

Brazil was the only undefeated team coming into the morning and they finished the day with the same mantra. After sweeping Japan, they finished up Pool D winning every set, as Japan fell to 1-2 – missing out on second in the pool and the top eight.

The biggest beneficiary of Brazil’s win was China, who just had to take care of Egypt to finish second in the pool. They did so in four sets, moving them ahead of Japan for a spot in the top eight.

BRAZIL DEF. JAPAN 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-21)

After Japan split its first two matches, they needed a win over Brazil (or at least a five-set loss coupled with a China loss) to claim the second spot in the pool. With a China win and a three-set loss, things went the exact wrong way for Japan, as Brazil remained perfect in sets so far in the tournament.

That wasn’t a foregone conclusion early, as Japan fought hard in attempt of a one-set lead. Kento Miyaura had 14 points to lead Japan and was critical in helping them jump ahead 18-15. Behind Victor Aleksander Almeida Cardoso and Davy Silva Moraes, Brazil bounced back to win 10 of the final 15 and slide ahead 1-0. Cardoso and Moraes both had seven points in the set, as Cardoso only played in the first with Moraes totaling a match-high 17 points.

The other two sets were never blowouts, but always seemed to remain in control of the Brazilian side. Lucas Adriano Araújo Barreto and Pablo Natan Ventura combined for 21 points to add depth to the Brazil attack and assist in 25-20 and 25-21 set wins. In the three-set sweep, Brazil totaled eight more kills (41-33), seven more blocks (11-4) and three more aces (5-2).

“We tried to prepare every player for this game. The Japanese are warriors,” Brazilian head coach Nery Pereira Tambeiro Junior told FIVB after the match. “After the first set, we knew we had to step it up. We never thought the match was going to be easy but during the match we found our strength.”

After going nine for nine on sets in the first weekend, Brazil will see more of a challenge in Pool F. Canada will await them on Tuesday with fellow South American foe Argentina on Wednesday. The closing match for their pool schedule will be against Russia, who also has yet to concede a set.

With the loss, Japan heads to Pool H at 1-2. They’ll start play with two teams who are looking for win number one in Morocco and Ukraine and finish it with Turkey.

CHINA DEF. EGYPT 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-18, 25-13)

China and Egypt had felt Brazil’s fury in the first two, with the difference in records coming from each side’s match vs. Japan (a win for China, a loss for Egypt). China was looking for a spot in the final eight, and showed up right out the gate.

From the very start it was apparent that China had more physicality at the net. They were led by Zixuan Tao‘s five blocks. He also had 13 points in total, as along with teammates gave China the first set by a wide margin of 25-15.

The only blemish on a commanding match for China was the second set. Egypt had four players with double-digit kills – all hovering between 10 and 12 points. Abdelrahman Seoudy and Youssef Hamdy Awad had the most of the quartet as they each netted a dozen and helped lead Egypt to a 25-22 second-set victory.

Yuantai Yu (16 points) and Jingyi Wang (15 points) helped grab back the momentum for China, as they controlled the third 25-18 for a 2-1 lead. Then, they trounced Egypt in the fourth 25-13. They completely dominated on the stat sheet; China had nine more spikes (50-41), four more blocks (14-10), three more aces (7-4) and had 10 less attack errors (16-26). They finished by winning 97 points to Turkey’s 71.

“The first set was how we anticipated, however, we relaxed too much in the second set and that costs us a good result,” Chinese captain Zhihao Liu, who had four blocks, said in the post-match. “I have mixed feelings about the third set but really pleases with the fourth one, that is how we wanted to play this game.”

After getting swept by Brazil yesterday, China bounced back to secure a spot in the final eight. They’ll join Pool E with Poland, Iran and Cuba as their quest to the semifinal round will begin on Tuesday.

At 0-3, Egypt is one of four teams to finish the first weekend without a win. They’ll try to change that in Pool G as they will see Czech Republic, Italy and the United States.