Resistencia, Argentina, August 22, 2015 - In front of 4’000 delirious fans in a packed Alejo Gronda Hall, Argentina wrote a new page on their books as the local team prevailed over Russia 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-11) to reach the gold medal game for the first time ever in this age group.
Although the light-blue and white boys were overpowered with energy, all the outcome of the game can be found in Russia’s performance. The defending champions had another tremendous night of Dmitry Yakovlev, but his massive number of 31 kills wasn’t enough to compensate for the 50 unforced errors the team committed during the game.
Argentina emerged victorious due to a steady temper, a scorching spirit and the boost of all the fans in Resistencia - a combination that proved highly efficient especially in the first moments of the tie-breaker, where Argentina gathered a crucial 4-point lead. The power trio of Jan Martínez (16), Felipe Benavídez and Manuel Balague (14 apiece) was in charge of the major scoring.
The best previous result of Argentina at U19 action was a bronze medal achieved six years ago, in 2009 in Italy. Now they will go for more, against Poland and at home soil.