Resistencia and Corrientes, Argentina, August 18, 2015 - Pool play was finally wrapped up at FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship in Argentina, completing the list of teams for Round of 16. Chile and Japan made it through without playing, Turkey won and awarded qualification to France and Cuba also moved forward.
Sparked by the dynamic duo of Kyle Ensing and Torey DeFalco, USA stormed past home boys Argentina 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-23) and finished group stage above everybody on Pool A. Both Ensing and DeFalco were tied as the game’s main scorers with 16 points each. Besides, USA also shone on a team level, with advantages of 14-7 in blocks and 7-3 in aces.
With the odds on their side, Turkey was able to qualify for the next round after a 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18) result over Belgium, who was left out of contest. The outcome also placed fourth ranked France into the Round of 16. The offensive force was headed by Adis Lagumdzija (17 points) and Abdullah Cam (12), after a first set that secured qualification for the Turks.
There wasn’t any stage fright for Cuba at Tuesday’s opener in Resistencia. The Caribbean side easily handled the match against Egypt and acquired a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-13) win that completely opened the way to the Round of 16. After a couple of games as a reserve player, Cuba’s José Carlos Romero jumped onto the court as a starter and capped 17 points.
On the best match in Resistencia venue so far, China put an end to Italy’s undefeated march with a great reaction by 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 22-25, 25-15, 16-14). Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to change Pool B ranking and the Azzurri seized the top spot with the achieved point.
Opening the day in Corrientes, Iran outblocked Bulgaria in a four-set battle (25-20, 25-14, 26-28, 25-14) with another outstanding performance by Aliasghar Mojarad and Emirhossein Esfandiar. Aleks Grozdanov pushed Bulgaria to win the third set but was not enough for the Europeans.
Later on, Poland ended with Chinese Taipei’s next round hopes after a comfortable 3-0 win (25-21, 25-20, 25-17) and helped Chile to qualify. Jakub Ziobrowski propelled the Polish victory with 17 points, to end their run in Pool C with a perfect 4-win registry. The Europeans imposed their supremacy from the serving line (9-1) but were subdued by the Asians in the net (1-5).
Russia totally out served Germany in a thrilling match 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 33-31) with an incredible performance by Dmitry Yakovlev, author of 25 points - 7 of them with direct services. After the first two sets, the Germans reacted and were close to force the 4th, but Russia could control the final assault in a thrilling end.
At the end, Brazil buried Puerto Rico in the 5th position with a 3-0 victory that gave them the 1st place in Pool D (25-14, 25-14, 25-15). Gabriel Bertolini pushed his team to the triumph with 9 points. Puerto Rico jumped to the field looking for the victory with a very aggressive attitude, but was quickly controlled by the excellent performance of the Brazilians.
On Wednesday, the competition will enter its elimination stage, with eight exciting Round of 16 games. In Resistencia, the agenda includes Italy-France, Turkey-China, USA-Mexico and Argentina-Cuba, while in Corrientes the matches will feature Germany-Iran, Poland-Japan, Brazil-Chile and Bulgaria-Russia.
Also, the other four teams will play a round robin pool for places 17 to 20. The first pair of games will be Puerto Rico-Chinese Taipei in Corrientes and Belgium-Egypt in Resistencia.
Top Scorer by Day27 - 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
Top Scoring Performances29 - 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
26 - Joachim Panou of France v Argentina on August 14
25 - Dmitry Yakovlev of Russia v Germany on August 18
Top Individual Serving Performances7 - 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
5 - Ridel Garay Nava of Mexico v Egypt on August 14
Top Team Serving Performances13 - Poland v Iran on August 15
13 - USA v France on August 17
12 - Russia v Germany on August 18
11 - Poland v Bulgaria on August 14
11 - USA v Belgium on August 15
Top Individual Blocking Performances7 - Gianluca Galassi of Italy v Cuba on August 14
7 - Barthélémy Chinenyeze of France v Argentina on August 14
7 - Aliasghar Mojarad of Iran v Bulgaria on August 18
6 - Aleks Grozdanov of Bulgaria v Iran on August 18
6 - Scott Stadick of USA v Belgium on August 15
Top Team Blocking Performances20 - Germany v Japan on August 15
19 - Iran v Bulgaria on August 18
17 - Chile v Chinese Taipei on August 14
15 - Argentina v France on August 14
15 - France v Argentina on August 14
Highest Scoring Sets33-31 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
28-26 Bulgaria v Chinese Taipei (4th set) on August 16
Highest Scoring Matches224 - 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
213 - Bulgaria d Chinese Taipei 3-2 (23-25, 16-25, 25-19, 28-26, 15-11) on August 16