Russian players celebrate after earning the ticket to the 2012 London Olympic Games
“I’m very satisfied with the result,” Russia’s coach Sergey Ovchinnikov said. “We have had problems in the past against Japan with receiving and their fast attack, but we solved them tonight.”
Korea bested Thailand in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-20). The winners, who play Peru on Sunday, improved to 4-2 with the victory, while the losers fell to 3-3.
“Today against Thailand was tough,” Korea’s coach Kim Hyung-Sil said. “We tried to attack as fast as possible. I would like to see three Asian teams – Korea, Japan and Thailand make it to the Olympics.”
European champions Serbia downed Peru in four sets (25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21) to improve their record to 4-2, while Peru slid to 1-5.
“We are not satisfied and I hope we will play better tomorrow and finish the tournament in the right way,” Serbia’s coach Zoran Terzic said. “I congratulate my team for the victory and Peru played well.”
Cuba defeated Chinese Taipei in straight sets (27-25, 25-17, 25-21). The win improved Cuba’s win-loss mark to 2-4, while Chinese Taipei remained winless at 0-6.
“I would like to praise our players,” Cuba’s coach Juan Carlos Gala expressed. “After last night’s loss, I told them not to give up and keep playing high quality until the end. Our blocking and serving were good.”
