Russia's Pavel Pankov celebrates after a point against Brazil in the clash of Titans at Men's U23
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 25, 2015 – Five teams remained unbeaten at the 2015 Men's U23 World Championship as Cuba, Iran, Italy from Pool A, Turkey and Russia in Pool B went through to the second victory on Second day held at Al Nasr and Al Ahly Halls in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
Pool A featured outstanding victory for Iran over Korea 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22) in day 2 best thriller, while Cuba outclassed Egypt 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-17). Italy went also to second win after they cruised past the hosts UAE 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-12). Cuba led the pool as the only team in the competition who didn't drop a set so far.
Pool B saw Russia playing their best to beat Brazil in the meeting of Titans, while Argentina secured the first victory Over Tunisia. Turkey kept their clean sheet to beat Tunisia 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-14). Argentina won their first match at against Mexico by 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-14). Turkey led the pool with the set ratio ahead of Russia.
In Pool A, Cuba notched a straight sets victory (25-20, 25-19, 25-17) over Egypt at "Al Nasr" hall. Mestre Uriarte (15 points), Abrahan Alfonso (13), and Rodriguez Osoria (10) were the driving force for the Cubans in the triumph. Egypt's Ahmed Saad had 9 points in the loss as the best scorer from his side.
Cuba improved their win- loss ratio to 2-0, while Egypt dropped to 0-2
Pre-tournament medal contender Iran continued their FIVB Men's U23 World Championship campaign with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22) win against a determined Korean squad.
Leading the Iran in scoring was opposite Javad Hosseinabadi with impressive 24 points, including two hard-fought blocks and two aces. He was supported by Pourya Damnabi with 14. For Korea, Jung Jiseok had 16 points in a losing effort.
The taller Iran players dominated the net through the better blocking as they had 15/4 kill blocks lead beside other skills. Iran improved their record to 2-0, while Korea dropped to 0-2.
Italy defeated United Arab Emirates in straight sets (25-20, 25-13, 25-12) to claim second win.
Gabriele Nelli was the driving force for the Italians, powering spikes around the court and unleashing some wicked serves. He had a match-high 11 points and was the most impressive player in the win. As usual Khamis Alsuwaidi played a strong supporting role for UAE, chipping in with 13 points.
In Pool B, Russia again proved their consistency as the frequent factory of age categories, as they maintained momentum with Brazil win 3-1 (26-24, 17-25, 25-16, 25-21) in the day's best show. Russia gained their second victory in a row, while Brazil is 1-1 after two games.
Alexander Kimerov, who succeed 19 of his 36 spike attempts, scored 20 points for Russia and Egor Kliuka helped him with 19 points. Brazil’s best scorer was Alan Souza with 19 points.
Turkey kept their rhythm to take on Tunisia 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-14) in Pool B action at Al Ahly Hall. Turkey improved their record to 2-0, while the Africans dropped to 0-2.
Turkey’s Metin Toy produced 22 points for the winning team. Tunisia’s best scorer was Messelmeni Karim with 13
Argentina won their first match against Mexico by 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-14). Pablo Koukartsev, Gonzalo Quiroga and Nicolas Lazo scored 14, 14 and 8 points for the winning team, respectively. Mexico’s best scorer was Julian Duarte with 10 points.
Argentina improved their record to 1-1, while Tunisia dropped to 0-2.
Best Performances
Top Scorer by Day
Day 1: 21- Gabriele Nelli of Italy v Egypton on August 24
Day 2: 24- Javad Hosseinabadi of Iran v Korea on August 25
Top Scoring Performances
24- Javad Hosseinabadi of Iran v Korea on August 25
22- Metin Toy of Turkey v Tunisia on August 25
21- Gabriele Nelli of Italy v Egypt on August 24
20- Alexander Kimerov of Russia v Brazil on August 25
20- Alexander Kimerov of Russia v Tunisia on August 24
19- Egor Kliuka of Russia v Brazil on August 25
19- Alan Souza of Brazil v Russia on August 25
18- Gokhan Gokgoz of Turkey v Argentina on August 24
Top Individual Serving Performances
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
7- Joaquin Gallengo of Argentina v Turkey on August 24
6- Ivan Demakov of Russia v Brazil on August 25
5- Fallah Zarchoub of Iran v Korea on August 25
5- Samet Gunes of Turkey v Argentina on August 24
4- Ricardo Calvo of Cuba v Egypt on August 25
4- Alberto Polo of Italy v Egypt on August 24
4- Karim Messelmani of Tunisia v Russia on August 24
4- Livan Osoria of Cuba v Korea on August 24
Top Team Blocking Performances
22- Russia v Tunisia on August 24
16- Argentina v Turkey on August 24
15- Cuba v Korea on August 24
14- Turkey v Argentina on August 24
13- Argentina v Mexico on August 25
13- Russia v Brazil on August 25
12- Italy v Egypt 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
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