Yugoslavia upsets Italy, Brazil wins in men's v'ball
1998-11-25

Nations Italy Brazil Netherlands Spain Canada Ukraine Bulgaria Argentina South Korea Greece China

TOKYO -- Yugoslavia staged its second straight upset victory as it defeated two-time defending champion Italy in straight sets Wednesday to earn a spot in the semifinals of the men's volleyball world championship.

In a battle of unbeaten teams in Group H, Goran Vujevic's all-around performance, featuring six points and 19 sideouts, helped Yugoslavia hand Italy its first loss of the tournament with a 15-12, 15-13, 15-13 win at Hamamatsu Arena in Shizuoka Prefecture.

1996 Atlanta Olympic bronze medalist Yugoslavia upended Centennial Games champion the Netherlands on Tuesday and improved its record Wednesday to 6-0, putting it at the top of the Group G standings with one match remaining in the quarterfinal round.

''We may have won 3-0, but we mustn't forget how close Italy was in every set,'' said Yugoslav head coach Zoran Gajic. ''We were better than (Italy) in important moments. My team plays well when it has to play well.''

In the same group, Russia, which tumbled to its first defeat of the championship against Italy on Tuesday, rebounded for a 15-6, 15-12, 15-11 triumph Wednesday over the struggling Netherlands to keep its hopes alive for a spot in the top four teams.

Igor Choulepov collected 10 points and 15 sideouts for Russia, which shares a 5-1 record with Italy. On Thursday, both teams will be looking to bag one of the two Group H semifinal berths when Russia meets Yugoslavia and Italy plays the Netherlands.

Earlier, Brazil chalked up its sixth straight quarterfinal win, downing Argentina in four sets to secure a spot in this weekend's semifinals in Tokyo. The 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medalist topped the eight-team Group G.

Gustavo Endres and Joel dos Santos Monteiro combined for 20 points as Brazil downed the young Argentines 15-11, 7-15, 15-2, 15-10 at Namihaya Dome in Osaka.

Also in Group G, Cuba edged Spain 12-15, 15-4, 15-5, 7-15, 15-12 to take second place at 5-1 -- one win away from earning one of two spots from the group in the semifinals.

The tournament's leading scorer, Rafael Pascual, collected 20 points and 17 sideouts for Spain, now 4-2, but that was not enough to defeat the determined Cubans, who lost in straight sets to Brazil on Tuesday.

In the lower end of Group G, host Japan took the first set against Canada but fell 11-15, 15-8, 15-9, 15-9 to its sixth-straight quarterfinal loss. It failed to advance to the placement finals for fifth to 12th place.

Japan, the Asian silver medalist, is the only team that has not won a match in the quarterfinal round. It will finish 13th at best and record its worst-ever placing in a world championship. Its previous worst position was 11th place in 1978 and 1990.

With the victory, Canada evened its record to 3-3 as did group rival Bulgaria, which defeated South Korea 11-15, 15-10, 15-8, 16-14.

In the tight Group H battle to remain in the upcoming placement finals, the United States beat Greece 15-9, 15-11, 15-11 and China claimed a 15-10, 10-15, 15-10, 16-14 victory over Ukraine in Hamamatsu to give all four teams 1-5 records in the quarterfinals. [Kyodo]