Turkey celebrate the victory against Cuba to qualify to Men's U23 World Championship final
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 30, 2015 – Russia will play Turkey in the FIVB Men's U23 World Championship final on Monday after both teams successfully surpass their semifinal encounters against Italy and Cuba respectively at Al Nar Hall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
there will be a new World U23 champion as neither team has won the tournament before with Brazil as only winners in the first edition 2 years ago.
Russia fought aggressively to beat Italy 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 27-25), while Turkey battled against Cuba 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 27-25) to book the final tickers. Russia stayed as the only unbeaten team in the competition before the finals.
In the play off 5 to 8 places Brazil outclassed Korea 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-22), while as Argentina cruised past battling Iran 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 25-21), where the defending champions will diminish their ambitions to only 5th place again neighbours Argentina, while Korea plays Iran for the 7th place
Final Programme on August 31
Gold Medal: Russia v Turkey
Bronze Medal: Italy v Cuba
Ranking 5-8
5th place: Argentina v Brazil
7th place: Iran v Korea
Semifinal
A slick performance by Russia brought them the victory against Italy 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 27-25) in the semifinal at Al Nasr Hall. Opposite spiker Alexander Kimerov was the most productive of the Russian players in double figures as he managed 17 points, followed by Sergei Nikitin 13 and Igor Kiluka 12. For Italy, Gabriele Nelli finished with 12 points in the losing efforts.
The North Europeans had a 8-3 advantage in blocks, 5-4 in aces and 46-29 in spiking success to mark the historic victory.
Turkey electrified the spectators with a scintillating straight sets win (25-19, 25-18, 27-25) against Cuba in the other semifinal. In the process the winners recorded their fifth win in six encounters in their campaign, while Cuba suffered the first loss in six matches. Star outside hitter Gokhan Gokgoz led the Turkey's scoring with 21 points while opposite attacker Metin Toy added 17 to his team record. For Cuba, middle blocker Abrahan Alfonso delivered 14 points with Osoria Rodriguez chalking up another 10 equal to Osmany Uriarte.
The winners led the match through the sharp serving making over a wide lead of 9/1 in ace services with another remarkable lead 45/35 in spiking and 9/7 in stuff blocks to make the Cubans opportunity very difficult.
Play off 5-8
In the Play off 5 to 8 position, South American giants Brazil and Argentina emerged winners of their corresponding matches against Korea and Iran to reply face to face for the 5th place, while Pool A match between Iran and Korea will be repeated also for the 7th position.
Brazil beat Korea in straight sets (25-20, 25-15, 25-22) with the least effort. defending champions Brazil’s Carlos Eduardo Barreto was the best scorer of the game with 14 points. On the other side, Sungmin Kim and Jiseok Jung scored 12 points each for Korea.
Argentina defeated Iran 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 25-21) in the other play off. Argentina’s main man was Pablo Koukartsev with 23 points. Iran’s Javad Hosseinabadi scored 15 points for the Asian team.
Best Performances
Top Scorer by Day
Day 1: 21- Gabriele Nelli of Italy v Egypt on on August 24
Day 2: 24- Javad Hosseinabadi of Iran v Korea on August 25
Day 3: 23- Metin Toy of Turkey v Mexico on August 26
23- Maesre Uriarte of Cuba v Iran on August 26
Day 4: 34- Pablo Koukartsev of Argentina v Brazil on August 28
Day 5: 27- Fayazi Pourya of Iran v Egypt on August 29
Day 6: 23- Pablo Koukartsev of Argentina v Iran on August 30
Top Scoring Performances
34- Pablo Koukartsev of Argentina v Brazil on August 28
27- Fayazi Pourya of Iran v Egypt on August 29
26- Maesre Uriarte of Cuba v Italy on August 29
24- Gonzalo Quiroga of Argentina v Brazil on August 28
24- Javad Hosseinabadi of Iran v Korea on August 25
23- Pablo Koukartsev of Argentina v Iran on August 30
23- Ahmed Saad of Egypt v Iran on August 29
23- Tiziano Mazzone of Italy v Cuba on August 29
23- Metin Toy of Turkey v Mexico on August 26
23- Maesre Uriarte of Cuba v Iran on August 26
22- Alan Souza of Brazil v Argentina on August 28
22- Metin Toy of Turkey v Tunisia on August 25
21- Gokhan Gokgoz of Turkey v Cuba on August 30
21- Carlos Barreto of Brazil v Turkey on August 29
21- Mohamed Alsuwaidi of UAE v Cuba on August 28
21- Gokhan Gokgoz of Turkey v Russia on August 28
21- Sergai Mikitin of Russia v Argentina on August 26
21- Gabriele Nelli of Italy v Egypt on August 24
Top Individual Serving Performances
6- Gokhan Gokgoz of Turkey v Cuba on August 30
4- Elyes Garfi of Tunisia v Brazil on August 26
4- Gabriele Nelli of Italy v UAE on August 25
4- Malek Chekir of Tunisia v Russia on August 24
Top Team Serving Performances
11- Cuba v Korea on August 24
9- Turkey v Cuba on August 30
9- Italy v Egypt on August 24
9- Egypt v Italy on August 24
Top Individual Blocking Performances
8- Joaquin Gallengo of Argentina v Russia on August 26
7- Pablo Koukartsev of Argentina v Iran on August 30
7- Emre Savas of Turkey v Russia on August 28
7- Pablo Koukartsev of Argentina v Brazil on August 28
7- Joaquin Gallengo of Argentina v Turkey on August 24
7- Luca Sprito of Italy v Korea on August 26
6- Mohamed Razi of Iran v Argentina on August 30
6- Mohamed Razi of Iran v Egypt on August 29
6- Ricardo calvo of Cuba v Italy on August 29
6- Segei Nikitin of Russia v Argentina on August 26
6- Jose Martinez of Mexico v Turkey on August 26
6- Ivan Demakov of Russia v Brazil on August 25
Top Team Blocking Performances
22- Russia v Tunisia on August 24
21- Cuba v Italy on August 29
21- Russia v Turkey on August 28
18- Russia v Argentina on August 26
17- Argentina v Iran on August 30
17- Italy v Korea on August 26
16- Argentina v Turkey on August 24
Highest Scoring Sets
Day 1: 25-22 Cuba v Korea (3rd Set) on August 24
25-22 Tunisia v Russia (2nd set) on August 24
Day 2: 26-24 Russia v Brazil (1st set) on August 25
Day 3: 33-31 Cuba v Iran (1st set) on August 26
Day 4: 33-31 Brazil v Argentina (3rd set) on August 28
Day 5: 27-25 Cuba v Italy (4th set) on August 29
Day 6: 27-25 Turkey v Cuba (3rd set) on August 30
27-25 Russia v Italy (3rd set) on August 30
Highest Scoring Matches
Day 1 Turkey v Argentina 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19) on August 24 - 181 points
Day 2 Iran v Korea 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22) on August 25 - 185 points
Day 3 Russia v Argentina 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9) on August 26 - 212 points
Day 4 Argentina v Brazil 3-2 (25-18, 25-18, 31-33, 23-25, 15-13) on August 28 - 226 points
Day 5 Cuba v Italy 3-2 (25-27, 23-25, 26-24, 27-25, 15-9) on August 29 - 226 points
Day 6 Argentina v Iran 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 25-21) on August 29 - 177 points