Belgium defeats Puerto Rico 3-0 in second round: FIVB Men´s Junior World Championship
The Belgium squad was up against Puerto Rico on August 7 in one of the last matches of the FIVB Men´s Junior World Championship's second round. The game did not take long to end as Belgium was able to hand out a defeat to the Puerto Ricans at 3-0.
Despite the fact that the Puerto Ricans fell in a clean sweep, they did not go away without putting up a commendable fight. The first set remained tight all through but the Belgians proved to be the stronger of the two sides as they took the opening set
of the game. The Puerto Ricans started off the second set with energy as well but they lost steam as the set neared its final stages, giving it away to the Belgians. The third set saw the Puerto Ricans put in a rejuvenated effort that produced an intense set
but the Belgians sealed the deal on it too, winning the match at the following final set scores: 25-22, 25-19 and 25-21.
The coach of the Belgian squad, Steven Vanmedegael, made the following comments at the press conference after his team had won the match: “Today, I think Puerto Rico played its best game, especially No. 13 (Ricardo Archilla). It was not easy for us to defend
against him. I hope we will refuel our energy to start well in the semi-finals. It is important for us to have the highest placing possible now that the top eight is out of reach."
Whereas the Puerto Rican coach, Carlos Rodriguez, expressed himself in the following words: “Even though we lost the game, it looked like winning because we are improving. I think the level has gone up. Just being in the top 16 of the world is great for
us. It has been 14 years since we won the last time. We will keep going and getting more experience."
The first set of the game started with a Belgian lead at 10-7 which they were able to extend to 12-9 but the Puerto Ricans overtook them and grabbed the lead themselves at 14-12. The match eventually reached a tie at 15-15 but Belgium found itself leading
again at 23-20. After that point it was only a matter of time before Belgium won the opening set at 25-22.
Belgium had the lead early on in the second set at 3-2 but Puerto Rico did not let them get far and got the advantage at 8-5. Belgium pulled up to take the lead back at 15-14 that went all the way to a set win at 25-19.
Puerto Rico was leading in the third set at 14-12 but Belgium equalised the match at 19-19 and went ahead for the final kill at 25-21.
Even though Puerto Rico lost the match, its player Ricardo Archilla was able to tally the highest number of points for his team at 17. On the other hand, the Belgian player that topped his team in points was Sam Deroo, who registered 16 points.
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