Corrientes, Argentina, August, 17, 2015 – Brazil keep its pace in Corrientes and remain unbeaten after a straight set victory over Japan. Erick Costa, Captain of the South American squad, highlighted the importance of the team unity to reach the tournament’s finals.
Percy Oncken, Brazil Head Coach: “I was nervous at the beginning; Japan has an amazing technique and they always play well against us, but my boys could follow the tactical plan we made. Playing against Asian teams teach us not to be desperate to score and moderate our anxiety, which is a terribly important phase on the learning of volleyball.”
Erick Costa, Brazil Captain: “We needed to be focused all the time, not only in the attacking phase but also in defense, because they play really fast! This victory and our unbeaten condition is due to all the work we did. We have been training for months and months. Our unity as a team will take us very far”
Hiroshi Honda, Japan Head Coach: “We played two 5-sets matches in the beginning, the players got tired and had no rest so they lowered their level. And to win against this kind of teams we need to be on the 100% of our capacity. If we are lucky we will get to the next round”
Yuki Suzuki, Japan Captain: “I’m not in good physical condition so I can’t have good performances, but I’m happy with what my team showed. We made four good matches but our smaller size make it difficult when we face physical teams as Brazil or Russia”