Will Turkey earn a spot in final round of 2012 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix?
This weekend marks the conclusion of the Preliminary Round of the 2012 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix. By the time that the weekend matches reach their close, the top five teams will be the ones heading towards Ningbo for the Final Round of the tournament, where China is already waiting.
Among the total of 16 teams that initially made up the championship, the USA squad finds itself at the top with 18 points in their bag while China is close behind with an equal number of points. The difference in the rankings of both the countries is the higher set ratio of 1.327 of US as opposed to the Chinese set ratio of 1.292.
At the third place in the championship sits Turkey, who finds itself at the top of Pool I. The other three teams that make up the same pool are Japan, Germany and Korea.
Turkey has been able to secure a total of 15 points so far that have been obtained by winning five matches and losing one. Japan, which is the host team this weekend for the Pool I matches, is at the second place in the pool with 10 points tallied by an equal number of victories and defeats. The Germans find themselves at the third place in the pool with nine points after three wins and three losses but a lower set ratio than Japan. Korea sits at the bottom of the pool with four points only that are a result of one win and five defeats.
The last match of the tournament that Turkey played was with the Serbians on June 17, 2012. Despite the fact that Turkey was playing in the home ground of its rivals, it was able to hand out a defeat to them at 3-1. The score board showed the following final set scores: 25-21, 16-25, 25-22 and 25-21.
The head coach of the Turkish squad, Marco Motta, expressed his satisfaction at the outcome of the match in the following words, “I think we always have some quality matches, and it is a good rivalry. Technically, both teams are not on a very satisfying level, but this time I think that physically we are in better shape than Serbia. We have to improve before the Olympics, but overall I think it was a good match.”
On the other hand, the Serbian coach Zoran Terzic praised the Turkish team in the following manner, “Congratulations to Turkey for everything they showed in this tournament.”
The Korean squad will not present a threat to the Turkish as they are out of the running to progress onto the final round of the competition because of their low points. However, Turkey would want to earn a sweeping win over Korea as that will give them high points. Japan will give the Turkish significant challenge as their level of motivation would most likely be raised by the enthusiasm of the home crowd. On the other hand, Turkey would also need to be careful of Germany as a Pool I match would be the first time that the two teams play against each other.
The first match of the weekend that the Turkish play would be against Korea while the second one with the home squad of Japan. The last match of the weekend will see Turkey clash with the Germans. Whether Turkey manages to secure a spot in the final round of the tournament after the weekend matches, only time will tell.
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