All-conquering Beijing Olympic gold medalists Brazil brushed aside Japan to romp to a record eighth title at the World Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament on Sunday.
The Brazilians, who did not lose a single match in the three qualifying weeks, chalked up a 25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 25-19 victory to complete five straight wins out of five in the six-team round robin final tournament.
Welissa Gonzaga scored the team’s best haul of 19 points, while Sheilla Castro chipped in with 16 points, leading Brazil to win the top prize of US$200,000.
“We struggled in the beginning, especially against Japanese serves, because they are different from our usual opponents. But in the end, we were able to clinch the title,” Brazilian captain Danielle Lins said. “I’m really happy that we, with these new players, made it.”
Brazil coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes said it was important for his “new generation” team to play tough matches.
It was a double victory for Castro, who received the most valuable player’s award and an extra prize of US$15,000.
“This is a victory that everybody — players, coaches and staff — fought for it together,” Castro said.
Earlier, world champions Russia saw off the Netherlands 25-20, 25-23, 25-21 to secure second place with a 4-1 win-loss record, while Germany defeated China 25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 25-14.
“Basically, today’s match doesn’t mean a lot for us, but I’m very satisfied that my players performed very well,” Russian coach Vladimir Kuzyutkin said.
“We missed the gold medal after losing to Brazil, but I’m satisfied with the runners-up place in the World Grand Prix. I’m also satisfied that my players did an excellent job,” he said.
The Netherlands missed out on a medal with a 2-3 record, the same as Germany, who took third place thanks to a better points ratio. China and Japan both ended with 1-4, with the hosts finishing bottom of the pile.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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