Portugal wins cracking five-set thriller – 2011 FIVB World League
Portugal edged out Serbia in third-week opening match of the 2011 FIVB World League on Friday, June 10.
They sealed a vital 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 28-26, 23-25, 15-13) victory over Serbs at their home soil. The Hala Pionir Sports Hall in Serbian City Belgrade was packed up with more than 2,500 spectators. Large majority of fans was Serbian but Portuguese flags
were seen rising high at the end of the match. The formula and game plan of head coach Juan Diaz perfectly worked out for Portuguese squad and his side clinched success.
Portugal opened the match with strong jump serves by Valdir Sequeira. He took long run-ups and pushed the ball away from his body with great might. Nikola Rasic, the libero of Serbian side was uniquely positioned to deal with the fast-moving serves. He did
a great job at receiving difficult shots. Meanwhile, Sasa Starovic of Serbia showed his attacking power and directed the swift spikes towards Portuguese side. The hitters and blockers of both teams seemed quite active, while score shifted up with a narrow
gap of points. Portugal earned a slight advantage near the end of set points and secured first set (25-22).
The loss of opening set was not easily digestible for home team. They hit back muscularly in the second set and picked up an early lead. Portuguese players had good energy after winning the opening set but they could keep their dominance in second set. The
home side was backed-up by local fans and the offensive attack by Serbian duo of Starovic and Podrascani created much trouble for Portugal. They added quick points and finally hit the mark by giving a final touch to the second set. Serbia captured the second
set and equalled the impact in 43rd minute of the game.
Serbia was back on track after winning second set, while Portuguese players didn’t feel good about the loss of set. Third set started out in complete madness of long rallies. The ball remained in the air most of the time and kept rolling over the net. Serbian
hitters were good but Portuguese defenders equally deserved the appreciation for solid defence. As the game progressed, tension built high. The head coaches instructed their respective players during the timeouts. The game took many different turns but finally
Portugal managed to take away third set with 2-point margin (28-26).
The see-saw battle continued in fourth set of the game. Serbs incorporated all their skills to pull off success, in order to extend the game to five sets. On the other hand, Portuguese squad wanted to put an end to the match in fourth set. Podrascanin and
Starovic of Serbia put up a valiant effort and took the lead. Portugal fought well but couldn’t stop Serbs from winning fourth set.
The final set of the match was real test of temperament for both teams. Flavio Cruz of Portugal came heavy on opponents and he was applauded for his successful attack attempts. Juan Diaz, the mentor of Team Portugal urged his players to stick to the plan
and avoid any mistakes in the crucial final set of the game. The team followed the vision of their coach and dominated Serbs. Third set ended with the final score of 15-13, while Portugal was declared as the winner of the game.
The head coach of Portugal, Juan Diaz said following his side’s win, “The way we played tonight was amazing; the level of performance was really high. We’ve worked a lot and prepared for this match by watching and observing our opponent. We managed to gain
every point we had in our hands and that’s what took us to this victory.”
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