Corrientes, Argentina, August, 22, 2015 – Belgium reappeared in the 4th set to end the World Championship in the 17th position after their victory over Puerto Rico (21-25. 25-20, 20-25, 25-17, 15-7), crowning an unbeaten second round with 8 points. Gabriel Garcia’s 18 points weren’t enough for Puerto Rico to win their third match in the competition.
The “Boricua” offensive trident conformed by Pelegrin Vargas (14 points), Gabriel Garcia (18) and Luis Ocasio (13) lost one of its master parts after Ocasio’s abdominal injury in the third set.
Puerto Rico suffered the loss of its striker and Belgium started to grow after a 1-2 disadvantage, with a great Simon Peeters (14 points) and the wonderful entrance of Bjarne Van de Velde, key for the victory with 13 points.
There was no parity in the tie break. Malisse outsmarted Puerto Rican block assisting greatly Van de Velde and Peeters, counting besides on a perfect block/defense system. With this victory, Belgium ended the 17th-20th classification with a 3-out-of-3 record, while Puerto Rico obtained their only win in the hole tournament against Egypt.