Japan defeats Egypt in second round of FIVB Volleyball Men´s Junior World Championship
The Japanese side competed with the Egyptians on the August 7thin the final match of the second round of the FIVB Volleyball Men´s Junior World Championship. The match between the two teams was being played at the Caio Martins gymnasium in Niteroi,
Brazil. The resulting competition was thrilling to watch as it took five sets to reach the end, with the Japanese emerging as victors, 3-2.
The first set of the match was bagged by the Japanese as the Egyptians were seen struggling with their game. However, once they got into their stride, Egypt secured the second set of the game by a comfortable margin. Likewise, the third set was won by the
Egyptian squad with the Japanese trailing behind most of the time. A two set deficit did not sit well with the Japanese and they stepped up their game in the fourth set and took the match to a fifth set. The final set of the game was intense but the Japanese
prevailed in sealing the deal at the following final set scores: 25-18, 15-25, 20-25, 25-21 and 16-14.
The Japanese coach, Noriaki Sako, expressed himself in by commenting in the press conference after the match: “Egypt was a tough opponent, especially their captain, who is left-handed and was hard to block. In the end, I was tired to watching the match ups
and downs. It was very hard to win."
The coach of the Egyptian team, Mohamed Ellakany, made the following statements: “We had a plan to win today by 3–0 so we could gain three points and advance to the semifinals. When we went into the fifth set, some layers did not fight because their dreams
were finished. We told them the must fight for five sets because history would write who won this match. Japan played very well. My team played very, very well, but we had not luck. But that is volleyball."
The opening set reached a tie at 11-11 but the Japanese managed to push ahead with a 13-11 lead that went up to 20-15 despite an Egyptian time out. The gap closed in for the Japanese at 20-18 because of Egyptian errors and Japan finally bagged the first
set at 25-18.
The second set reached a tie early at 3-3 but the Egyptian squad was leading at 13-8 later. The Japanese fell to making errors that made the 25-15 win for the Egyptians much easier.
The third set of the game saw the Egyptians taking the lead at 7-3 and keeping it at 16-12. Japan closed in the gap at 18-16 but the Egyptians were successful in getting a win at 25-20.
The Japanese started off the fourth set with renewed spirit that got them the advantage at 16-12. The Egyptians were trailing the Japanese, who eventually bagged the game at 25-21. However, the final set of the game was highly entertaining and reached a
tie at 14-14. It remained tight all through until the Japanese had sealed the deal at 16-14.
The Japanese player, Takashi Dekita, was able to top all scorers by securing 23 points while the Egyptian Moustafa Idris registered the highest number of points for his team at 19.
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