Going into the final day of the Preliminary Round for the final edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix, four teams have already clinched their positions in the Group 1 Final 6. China as the hosts, Italy with their win on Saturday, Serbia and the USA who clinched on Friday.
Japan’s five set win over Serbia on Saturday in Hong Kong kept their hopes alive. While the Dominican Republic’s loss to Italy eliminated them from contention.
Standings After Saturday’s Play:
| Matches | Pts | Sets | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W | L | W | L | Ratio | W | L | Ratio | |
| 1 |  Serbia |
6 | 2 | 19 | 20 | 7 | 2.857 | 642 | 540 | 1.189 |
| 2 |  United States |
6 | 2 | 19 | 22 | 11 | 2.000 | 767 | 685 | 1.120 |
| 3 |  Italy |
6 | 2 | 16 | 19 | 11 | 1.727 | 694 | 645 | 1.076 |
| 4 |  Netherlands |
5 | 3 | 15 | 19 | 11 | 1.727 | 672 | 639 | 1.052 |
| 5 |  Brazil |
5 | 3 | 15 | 17 | 12 | 1.417 | 672 | 626 | 1.073 |
| 6 |  China |
5 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 1.000 | 737 | 745 | 0.989 |
| 7 |  Japan |
5 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 0.944 | 761 | 774 | 0.983 |
| 8 |  Dominican Republic |
4 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 0.833 | 714 | 725 | 0.985 |
| 9 |  Russia |
3 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 0.882 | 699 | 723 | 0.967 |
| 10 |  Thailand |
2 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 0.722 | 651 | 697 | 0.934 |
| 11 |  Turkey |
1 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 0.364 | 613 | 712 | 0.861 |
| 12 |  Belgium |
0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 0.167 | 562 | 673 | 0.835 |
So there remains three teams for the two remaining spots in the Finals in Nanjing: Japan, Netherlands and Brazil.
I will start with Japan first as they play the first game of the day against Russia in Hong Kong for Group 1 teams. Japan must win against Russia. If it loses, Netherlands and Brazil will already be at a higher point level 15 each, compared to Japan’s 11, and therefore clinch their spots. With a win, Japan will reach 6 wins and 13 or 14 points, while Netherlands and Brazil will be at 5 wins, and 15 points.
Japan would then need either Netherlands or Brazil to lose to clinch their spot.
For the Netherlands, if Japan wins, Netherlands must beat Belgium or Brazil must lose in less than 5 sets to clinch their spot. As both teams are tied on points and wins, Netherlands holds the sets ratio advantage over Brazil. If the Netherlands loses in 5 sets, then Brazil cannot win, again if Japan has won.
For Brazil, if Japan wins, it must win to clinch their spot or Brazil loses in 5 sets (getting 1 point, reaching 16 points) and Netherlands must lose in less than 5 sets (16-15 points to Brazil). If Japan loses, Brazil will clinch their spot.
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