During the weekend, four of the six Final Four matches for the men’s championship were played, and the first team to qualify for the Japan V-League final, scheduled for Sunday, April 23 in Tokyo, has already been determined. The reigning champions, Suntory Sunbirds, secured their place in the final after a tie-break win against the Panasonic Panthers and a five-set win against the regular part winners, WolfDogs Nagoya, on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Sakai Blazers are no longer in the running for the final due to their losses against the WolfDogs Nagoya on Saturday and the Panasonic Panthers on Sunday. Therefore, the Panasonic Panthers and WolfDogs Nagoya will compete in a direct clash on Sunday, April 16th, for the other spot in the final.
After 36 rounds of play, the top four teams competing in the playoff phase are WolfDogs Nagoya, Suntory Sunbirds, Panasonic Panthers, and Osaka Sakai Blazers. The Final-4 playoffs adopt a round-robin format, with each team earning starting points based on their ranking (3 points for 1st, 2 points for 2nd, 1 point for 3rd, and 0 points for 4th). The Grand Finals will be a single match scheduled for Sunday, April 23rd, and the top two teams from the playoffs will advance to the finals.
April 8, 2023
Suntory Sunbirds vs Panasonic Panthers 3-2 (31-29, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-9)
Wolfdogs Nagoya vs Sakai Blazers 3-0(25-18, 25-21, 25-20)
April 9, 2023
Panasonic Panthers vs Sakai Blazers 3-1 (27-25, 28-26, 20-25, 32-30)
Wolfdogs Nagoya vs Suntory Sunbirds 2-3 (28-26, 21-25, 25-20, 19-25, 18-20)
April 16, 2023
Suntory Sunbirds vs Sakai Blazers
Wolfdogs Nagoya vs Panasonic Panthers
STANDINGS
- Suntory Sunbirds 2-0 (6 points)
- Wolfdogs Nagoya 1-1 (7 points)
- Panasonic Panthers 1-1 (7 points)
- Sakai Blazers 0-2 (0 points)
