Players of Cuba, the stars of Day 3 at Men's U23 poses after winning the match against Iran
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 26, 2015 – Four team maintained their winning streak in Day 3 of the 2015 Men's U23 World Championship as Cuba, Italy (Pool A), Turkey and Russia (Pool B) marked their third consecutive victory to maintain their unbeaten campaign after thrilling encounters at Al Nasr and Al Ahly Halls in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.
The 4 winning team already secured top 8 finish in the standings between top 4 teams in each of the preliminary pools.
Cuba and Italy led Pool A with the full mark of 9 points followed by Iran 6, Egypt 3, Korea and UAE 0. In Pool B Turkey was the only team to gain 9 points followed by Russia 8, Brazil 6, Argentina 4, Tunisia and Mexico 0.
In Pool A, World Junior No. 13 Cuba took advantage of Iran's 35 unforced errors to clinch a 3-1 win (33-31, 25-23, 15-25, 26-24) in Pool A at Al Nasr Hall. Cuba improved their win- loss ratio to 3-0 to maintain their winning streak, while Iran drop to 2-1.
Mestre Uriarte topped the scorers with 23 points for Cuba while Javad Huseinabadi was the best scorer for Iran with 20 points. Iran had no answers to the solid game of their opponents. Cuba only allowed a few attacking maneuvers as they covered all attacking points at the net and on the floor. However, the main reason for Cuba's win were the 35 mistakes Iran.
Italy held off a battling Korea to win a thrilling encounter on their path to a third victory 3-1 (25-15, 29-31, 25-22, 25-18) without losses. Italy advanced to 3-0 record, while Korea dropped to 0-3.
The match was a terrific contest with the players from both sides displaying rich ability. Gabriele Nelli's 20 points topped the list of the scores for the winners, followed by Tiziano Mazzone 15. Korea's Kim Inhyoek had 19 points to head the scoring charts of the losers.
Egypt registered their first victory over hosts United Arab Emirates in straight sets (25-14, 25-21, 22-25, 25-12). With the win Egypt improved their competition's record to 1-2, while UEA dropped to 0-3.
Egypt played a high-spirit game for the first two sets but suddenly Emirates came steadily to lead in the third set and narrow the score, before the Egyptian regained the rhythm and won the fourth set.
Ahmed Shafik's 17 points put him as the best scorer for the winners equal to opposite Ahmed Saad, while Mohamed Khamis contributed 18 points as best scorer from the losers' side followed by Adel Alblooshi 10.
In Pool B, Turkey defeated Mexico 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-12) in Pool B’s third day action at Al Ahli Club.
Turkish team maintained their leading position and winning streak to 3-0, while Mexico stayed pointless after three games. Turkish opposite Metin Toy was the star player of the match with 23 points. Mexico’s middle blocker Jose Martinez scored 17 points for his team.
Russia made a great comeback to overcome Argentina 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9). Russia stayed unbeaten after three games but now one point behind Turkey.
Sergei Nikitin of Russia scored 21 points for the winning team, while Argentina’s Pablo Koukartsev scored 19 points.
Defending champions Brazil overcame the second day's loss against Russia to beat Tunisia 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20). Brazil continued to chase Turkey and Russia with 6 points from 2-1 record, while Tunisia stayed pointless.
Brazil’s Alan Souza was the best scorer of the match with 20 points. On the other side, Elyes Garfi scored 17 points for Tunisia.
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
Top Scoring Performances
24- Javad Hosseinabadi of Iran v Korea on August 25
23- Metin Toy of Turkey v Mexico on August 26
23- Maesre Uriarte of Cuba v Iran on August 26
22- Metin Toy of Turkey v Tunisia on August 25
21- Sergai Mikitin of Russia v Argentina on August 26
21- Gabriele Nelli of Italy v Egypt on August 24
20- Javad Hosseinabadi of Iran v Cuba on August 26
20- Gabriele Nelli of Italy v Korea on August 26
20- Alexander Kimerov of Russia v Brazil on August 25
20- Alexander Kimerov of Russia v Tunisia on August 24
19- Kim Inhyoek of Korea v Italy on August 26
19- Pablo Koukartsev of Argentina v Russia on August 26
19- Egor Kliuka of Russia v Brazil on August 25
19- Alan Souza of Brazil v Russia on August 25
Top Individual Serving Performances
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- 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- Joaquin Gallengo of Argentina v Turkey on August 24
7- Luca Sprito of Italy v Korea on August 26
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
5- Ivan Demakov of Russia v Argentina on August 26
5- Fallah Zarchoub of Iran v Korea on August 25
5- Samet Gunes of Turkey v Argentina on August 24
Top Team Blocking Performances
22- Russia v Tunisia on August 24
18- Russia v Argentina on August 26
17- Italy v Korea on August 26
16- Argentina v Turkey on August 24
15- Egypt v UAE on August 26
15- Mexico v Turkey on August 26
15- Cuba v Korea on August 24
14- Cuba v Iran on August 26
14- Turkey v Argentina 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
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 on August 26 - 212 points