WORLD No. 1 Poland clobbered Brazil, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, to break free from a crowded middle pack in the crucial Week 3 of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) men’s tournament Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Poles proved their stature as the today’s top-ranked spikers in dispatching the formidable Brazilians in less than two hours to claim solo third spot at 8-2 behind leaders Japan and the United States.
Poland on Wednesday pulled off a 29-31, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-13 comeback win against Slovenia to stay unbeaten in the Philippine leg of the VNL, organized by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the Volleyball World with Ganten, Gerflor, Mikasa, Mizuno, Senoh and Stake.com as global sponsors.
Wilfredo Leon Venero spearheaded Poland’s supremacy over the 2016 Olympic and 2021 VNL champion Brazil with 22 points on 20 hits, a block and an ace, including a hammering kill in the first set for a slim 25-23 win.
Bartosz Bednorz added 11 points as 2021 VNL MVP Bartosz Kurek had 10 with Marcin Janusz manufacturing 17 sets for outright finalist Poland, which will host the 8-team finale on July 19 to 24 in Gdansk City.
“We prepare for this kind of games. Brazil is a very strong team so we knew from the beginning that it will be a tough game,” Leon Venero said. “Our team needs our best game as possible and we think it’s enough to win.”
Up against a determined foe that just swept the Netherlands the other day, Poland nearly wasted a 24-20 lead in the opening salvo as Brazil roared back with three unanswered points before Venero came to the rescue with a thunderous hit off a perfect Janusz set.
Poland cooled down in the second frame, trailing early at 12-16 as world No. 4 Brazil scored a 25-22 retaliation behind the combined efforts of Alan Souza and Ricardo Lucarelli Souza.
But Poland restored order right away as Bednorz and Kurek joined the barrage to help Venero in bagging a pair of 25-21 scores for the big win in VNL Philippine leg presented by PLDT as presentor with Rebisco, Akari and PSC as major sponsors.
Brazil, despite the 17 points of Souza and 14 of Lucarelli, slid to 7-4 at No. 6 in the final preliminary round of the VNL also backed by Fitbar, Instax Fujifilm, Fitness First, Pasay City, Taguig City, Diamond Hotel, Maynilad, Peugeot, SM MOA Arena, The Look Company and The Moment Group with Cignal, Inquirer Group, RMN, DOOH, One Sports, One Sports+ and Mega Mobile as media partners.
Up next for Poland is Canada in a bid for third straight in as many matches here in the Philippines as Brazil shoots for revenge against China on Saturday.