The semifinals of the Asian Eastern Zonal Men’s Championships in Ulanbaataar, Mongolia, are set after a pair of five-set affairs and a sweep in the final stage of pool play on Monday. Japan and Korea outlasted their foes in five sets to claim their spots, while Chinese Taipei won 3-0 to make its way to the next round. Host Mongolia rounds out the field.
Japan defeated DPR Korea 25-22, 24-26, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11 to claim the top spot in Group B, while Chinese Taipei’s sweep of Hong Kong (25-15, 25-16, 25-17) gave them second place in the pool.
Korea edged host Mongolia in the finale of Group A play, 19-25, 30-28, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9, to take the top spot in Pool B, although both teams already boasted spots in the semifinals.
Wednesday’s semifinals will pit Korea against Chinese Taipei and Mongolia against reigning championship Japan.
The top three at the last championships in 2015 were Japan, Chinese Taipei and Korea.
The tournament, hosted every other year, featured seven teams in two pools. Pool A featured Mongolia, Korea and Macau, while Pool B included Japan, Chinese Taipei, DPR Korea and Hong Kong. The Chinese teams did not compete due to some internal procedures.
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