Brazil battles, but loses to Japan in the men’s League of Nations

The men’s volleyball team suffered the second defeat in the League of Nations when they stumbled against the undefeated Japan in the tie-break by 3 sets to 2 (23/25, 21/25, 25/18, 25/22 and 16/18), this Thursday (22), in Orleans (France). The selection, now fourth in the table, will compete again at 11:30 am on Saturday (24th), against Slovenia (3rd), in a game valid for the second round of the qualifying phase. The Japanese team started overwhelmingly, opening 2 sets to 0 on the scoreboard. However, the team commanded by coach Renan Dal Zotto, showed resilience, pulled out the tie, and took the decision to the tie-break. And there was no shortage of fighting until the end: the Brazilians saved four match-points before the Asian team closed in 18/16 and sealed the victory by 3 sets to 2. 🇧🇷 2 x 3 🇯🇵(23/25, 21/25 and 25/18, 25/22 and 16/18) The Brazilian team struggled but the victory did not come. 😔 Total focus on the next challenge! 👊 pic.twitter.com/MFNh44EOnW — Time Brasil (@timebrasil) June 22, 2023 “We tried to win the whole time. It’s a long competition, we have to think about how the competition will unfold and we’ll try to focus on the next game, but we have to learn some lessons. We started a little slow at the start of the game. And impeccable Japan, we cannot take credit from Japan at any time. Even with the difficulties, with Japan playing well, the team fought the whole time, looked for point by point, and we ended up losing the game in detail, 18/16 in the tie-break. We knew it was going to be a very balanced game. But we have to believe in the process. We are evolving, always thinking about growing, and all of this is part of our journey”, analyzed Dal Zotto, in a statement to the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV). We fought! The men’s team was beaten by Japan in a high-level match. Now, focus on the next mission. Brazil faces Slovenia this Saturday, at 11:30 am (Brasília time). @sportv 2 streams. 📺 pic.twitter.com/nJZxQ5f4qY — CBV (@volei) June 22, 2023 The highest scorer of the match was the Japanese Ishikawa, who scored 27 points. On the Brazilian side, who scored the most was the opposite Alan (20). Another highlight of the selection was Honorato with 16 points, 11 of them only in the attack. “I think the Japanese team has all the credit for this victory. It is a team that is at the tip of its hooves, really ready. They’ve been playing together for five, six years and they get along really well. Our team is under construction, getting together, so it’s part of the process. I think what was worth was our fight, the persistence that is the main characteristic of this group, we left everything on the court today. Now it’s on to the next game. The season is long and I believe that we will still evolve a lot, there is still a lot of ballast to evolve”, said the player. Competition format The League brings together the 16 teams best ranked by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). The first qualifying phase started on June 6th and runs until July 9th. Each team plays 12 matches (four per week in different venues). In the end, the top eight advance to the quarterfinals, with Poland already having a guaranteed qualification for hosting the final phase of the League of Nations. The competition games also add points to the FIVB world ranking, one of the parameters in the race for an Olympic berth at the Paris 2024 Games. Slovenia 6/25 (Sunday) 12:30 pm Brazil vs France Knockout stage (quarter finals onwards) – Poland From 19 to 23 July


Agência Brasil