Persian volleyball players tasted the 3-0 defeat (25-22, 25-19, 25-15) in the face of powerhouse Brazil who never lost more than one match in this tournament in a single year.
The Friday showdown was hosted by the Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium and where strong defense of the South American side prevented Iran’s top scorer, Milad Ebadipour, from scoring more than nine points.
“Congratulations to Brazil for a great game. Today, I think we lost energy from the middle of the second and third sets. Each game was interesting but I think at those moments in the second and third sets Brazil started to play unbelievable defense and great counter-attack. We just didn’t have the energy we had against USA. Maybe we lost a lot of energy in our first two games, but I think Brazil put us under pressure with their high quality,” Iran coach Igor Kolakovic said post match.
In the upcoming match today, Iranians are slated to take up host Japan hoping to secure a third victory in the international sportive event.
The Men’s World Grand Champions Cup features a total of six teams that play in a round-robin tournament from September 12 to 17. Nagoya and Osaka host the seventh edition of the tournament.
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