Resistencia and Corrientes, Argentina, August 19, 2015 - Wednesday action opened the door for the elimination phase at FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship, with several riveting matches from Round of 16 on both venues. Host team Argentina extended the party in Resistencia advancing to quarterfinals, where will be joined by USA, China, Italy, Brazil, Russia, Poland and Iran, on Friday.
An extraordinary game featured as opening chapter in Resistencia venue. Cheered by a large juvenile crowd, Italy had to use all of their energy to pass over France 3-2 (25-15, 19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11), imposing in a stirring blocking battle by 21-18. The Italian wall was formed by all of the Azzurrini players, with Gabriele Di Martino and setter Riccardo Sbertoli leading with four caps each. On France, Mathieu Manusauaki nailed a tournament record of 8 killing blocks.
The next obstacle for Italy will be an overpowered side of Iran, as the Asians passed through Germany in straight sets (25-14, 25-18, 25-22). Aghchehli Rasoul scored 15 points to give the Iranian the ticket to the next round, also seizing the absence of Maximilian Auste on the other side of the net. A stomach illness left Germany without their best scorer and Iran punished hard from scratch.
Two of last edition’s podium placements will meet in the upcoming quarterfinals. One of them is China, which now seems unstoppable having left behind their initial setback in the hands of Cuba. Current silver medalists handled a clear defeat to Turkey by 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-20) with Yu Yuantai once more as flag-bearer, completing a fine number of 5 blocks and a total count of 17.
Even though Japan surprised everyone in Corrientes with a phenomenal performance in the first set, eventually lost against Poland 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-11, 25-13) and last bronze holders will clash against China. Dawid Woch was distinguished in every aspect of the game to shake off Japan and send the Poles straight into the best 8 teams in the competition.
Pool A winners USA moved on as well. Enjoying 21 points from Kyle Ensing, the Americans overwhelmed Mexico 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-22) as the opposite shone on all aspects of the game, completing 15 spikes, two blocks and four aces. In that last department, USA destroyed Mexico by a 13-3 margin, using also 6 direct points from setter Micah Ma’a.
USA moved forward on the draw and now will cross paths with Russia, which contained Bulgaria’s growth with a ruthless 27-point production by Dmitry Yakovlev and headed to the quarterfinals after a 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17). Konstantin Abaev and Aleksei Kononov presented 5 blocking points each.
Saving the best for the very end, the remaining quarterfinal game will be the South American classical duel between hosts Argentina and Brazil. The visiting side crushed Chile in Corrientes in straight sets (25-16, 25-16, 25-17). Though the Chileans tried to keep the pace, Kaio and Martins de Pinho, both with 11 points, were too much for Ivan Villarreal’s boys.
Argentina, in the closure of the day in Resistencia, prevailed despite an astonishing 23-point total from Cuba’s Miguel Ángel López. The host team shook off the Caribbean side 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-19) with a true display of teamwork - Jan Martínez was at the helm again with 16 tallies, fellow spiker Felipe Benavídez added 12 and middle-blocker Agustín Loser built 6 stuff blocks and a total of 10 points.
The other four teams of the tournament are off to decide places from 17 to 20. Belgium began that road with a 3-0 (28-26, 25-21, 25-19) over Egypt, while Puerto Rico and Chinese Taipei played a tight five-setter with the latter clawing their way back to an incredible 3-2 (24-26, 32-34, 25-20, 25-17, 16-14).
Top Scorer by Day
27 - Jakub Ziobrowski of Poland vs Bulgaria on August 14
24 - Maximilian Auste of Germany v Japan on August 15
23 - Chen Fu Yen of Chinese Taipei v Bulgaria on August 16
29 - Ridel Garay Nava of Mexico v Cuba on August 17
27 - Yu Yuantai of China v Italy on August 18
27 - Dmitry Yakovlev of Russia v Bulgaria on August 19
Top Scoring Performances
29 - Ridel Garay Nava of Mexico v Cuba on August 17
27 - Yu Yuantai of China v Italy on August 18
27 - Jakub Ziobrowski of Poland vs Bulgaria on August 14
27 - Dmitry Yakovlev of Russia v Bulgaria on August 19
26 - Joachim Panou of France v Argentina on August 14
Top Individual Serving Performances
7 - Micah Ma’a of USA v Belgium on August 15
7 - Dmitry Yakovlev of Russia v Germany on August 18
6 - Bartosz Kwolek of Poland v Chile on August 17
6 - Toray DeFalco of USA v France on August 17
6 - Micah Ma’a of USA v Mexico on August 19
Top Team Serving Performances
13 - Poland v Iran on August 15
13 - USA v France on August 17
13 - USA v Mexico on August 19
12 - Russia v Germany on August 18
11 - Poland v Bulgaria on August 14
Top Individual Blocking Performances
8 - Mathieu Manusauaki of France v Italy on August 19
7 - Gianluca Galassi of Italy v Cuba on August 14
7 - Yi-Huei Lin of Chinese Taipei v Puerto Rico on August 19
7 - Aliasghar Mojarad of Iran v Bulgaria on August 18
7 - Dawid Woch of Poland v Japan on August 19
Top Team Blocking Performances
21 - Italy v France on August 19
21 - Chinese Taipei v Puerto Rico on August 19
20 - Germany v Japan on August 15
20 - Russia v Bulgaria on August 19
19 - Iran v Bulgaria on August 18
Highest Scoring Sets
34-32 Puerto Rico v Chinese Taipei (2nd set) on August 19
33-31 Russia v Germany (3rd Set) on August 18
29-27 Argentina v France (4th Set) on August 14
29-27 Germany v Puerto Rico (2nd set) on August 16
28-26 Bulgaria v Iran (3rd set) on August 18
Highest Scoring Matches
233 - Chinese Taipei d Puerto Rico 3-2 (24-26, 32-34, 25-20, 25-17, 16-14) on August 19
224 - Argentina d France 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 25-27, 29-27, 15-12) on August 14
216 - Chile d Chinese Taipei 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 16-14) on August 14
215 - Germany d Japan 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 26-24, 18-25, 15-9) on August 15
214 - China d Italy 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 22-25, 25-15, 16-14) on August 18