WORLD No. 1 Poland zoomed to second place following a gritty 25-21, 25-23, 27-25 sweep of Canada in the penultimate day of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) men’s tournament Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Poles pulled everything they had though against the also-ran but determined Canadians in the three close sets to stay unbeaten in three matches in VNL’s Week 3 serving as the final leg here.

Poland, which will host the 8-team VNL finals in Gdansk City from July 19 to 24, jumped to 9-2 won-lost record and went pass the United States (8-2) in the team standings ahead of its final game at 7 p.m. against the top-ranked Japan (10-0) on Sunday.

Team USA absorbed a tough 18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 41-43, 12-15 defeat in a marathon battle against Argentina in the other pool games in Anaheim, California, also on Saturday to slightly stumble in the standings.

Perennial aces Wilfredo Leon Venero and 2021 VNL MVP Bartosz Kurek took a backseat in the non-bearing match but Poland still lured a bevy of heroes led by Kamil Semeniuk and Norbert Huber with 11 points apiece.

Lucasz Kaczmarek threw in 10 while Aleksander Sliwka and Karol Klos added eight and seven points, respectively, for Poland, which previously beat Slovenia and Brazil for a perfect run so far in the Philippine leg.

A Semeniuk hammer saved Poland from set point in the third frame before Huber aced back-to-back services for a thrilling 27-25 clincher much to the eruption of a sizeable Filipino crowd.

Poland also grinded out close wins in the first and second set, where Venero dropped two straight attacks to break a 23-all deadlock. Those were Venero’s few shining moments in the straight-set win led by his teammates after exploding for 22 in their big win over Brazil.

Canada, led by Samuel Cooper’s 19 points, slid to 2-9 for a tie with first-game loser China and Cuba at 14th to 16th place.

Canada and China will battle it out to avoid a cellar finish and notch a graceful exit in the first game at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Brazil earlier wrapped up its campaign in style via 25-19, 25-17, 25-17 rout of China for an 8-4 card behind Felipe Moreira Roque’s 17 points on 12 hits, four blocks and an ace.

Brazil, the former Olympic and VNL champion, went 2-2 in the Philippine leg after losses against Italy and Poland. Its other win, a 3-0 wipeout of the Netherlands on Wednesday, assured its spot in the finals. (ai/mnm)

Games on Thursday
(Mall of Asia Arena)
11 a.m. – Brazil vs The Netherlands
3 p.m. – Canada vs Italy
7 p.m. – China vs Slovenia

THE Netherlands shored up its playoff aspirations by scoring a crucial 25-22, 25-22, 17-25, 25-18 win on Day 2 of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) men’s tournament Week 3 on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Save for a third-set stumble, the Dutch were on target in finishing off the Canadians in only one hour and 37 minutes to strengthen their hold of the coveted No. 8 spot with a 5-4 win-loss record.

The win, behind the heroics of skipper Nimir Abdel-Aziz, was a shot in the arm for the Netherlands in a tightrope race with reigning France, which interestingly lags behind at No. 9 with a 4-5 card.

Only the top eight squads from the 16-team VNL—organized by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and Volleyball World with Ganten, Gerflor, Mikasa, Mizuno, Senoh, and Stake.com as global sponsors—march on to the final round from July 19 to 24 in Poland.

“It’s really important. We know it’s really close in the battle for the 7th and 8th place so we needed this win to keep our hopes of qualifying to the finals,” said Abdel-Aziz, who sizzled with 24 points on 22 attacks and two aces.

Abdel-Aziz’s outburst included three straight points in the pivotal second set, where the world No. 10 Netherlands after a narrow 25-22 win in the opening set dropped a 4-0 finishing kick to snatch a 25-22 win and post a massive 2-0 lead.

Jorna Gjis added 12 points and Maarten Van Garderen chipped in 11 with Wessel Keemink facilitating the Dutch’s fiery offense behind 18 sets.

Canada, behind Ryan Joseph Sclater, woke up in the third set ignited by a 17-7 start to extend the match only for Abdel-Aziz to bring the Netherlands home in the fourth set. Teaming up with Garderen this time, the 6-foot-7 Abdel-Aziz fired two straight kills while Garderen took his turn by launching three aces in a row for a hot 5-1 Netherlands start.

The Dutch never looked back for a massive win ahead of another important duel against powerhouse Brazil (6-3) on Thursday in the final preliminary leg of the VNL that also has PLDT, Rebisco, Akari, and the PSC as major sponsors.

Sclater rifled in 20 points but Canada, world No. 15, still absorbed its seventh loss in nine matches to stay in 14th place in the VNL Philippine leg also backed by support from Fitbar, Instax Fujifilm,

Fitness First, Pasay City, Taguig City, Diamond Hotel, Maynilad, Peugeot, SM MOA Arena, The Look and The Moment Group with Cignal, Inquirer Group, RMN, DOOH, One Sports, One Sports+ and Mega Mobile as media partners.

Canada’s next foe on the same day is Italy (6-3), which will ride on a stunning 23-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-21 win over Brazil in the opener. (AI/MNM)