Tokyo, Japan, December 4, 2011 â€“ Russia were crowned winners of the 2011 FIVB World Cup at the end of 15 days of incredible action with matches having taken place across eight different venues. This is Russiaâ€™s sixth title in the competition, the last dating back to 1999 and with four more having been contributed by the former Soviet Union (1965, 1977, 1981 and 1991).



The players mentored by coach Vladimir Alekno had booked their spot for the 2012 Olympics on Saturday but they eventually finished also on top of the standings already after scoring a provisional 2:1 lead in their last match with Poland. The group around Bartosz Kurek had to settle for silver but did not have any real regret as even though they missed five match balls in the tie-break, the result of that game was no longer going to influence the final standings. This is Polandâ€™s second silver medal in history after this nation had finished as runners-up back in 1965 at the inaugural edition of the tournament. Apart from determining the winner of the World Cup, the last day of action in Tokyo was also going to assign the last of the three much wanted tickets at stake to book a trip to London 2012 and this slot eventually went to Brazil that completed the tournament by edging the hosts of Japan in three sets thereby shattering the dreams of Italy to make it to London directly via the World Cup. This is Brazilâ€™s fifth medal in the competition, after the South Americans claimed the back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2007, with two bronze medals dating back to 1981 and 1995.



Menâ€™s World Cup Results/Standings, Match Info, Photos or Live Scoring



Russia captured the 2011 FIVB Menâ€™s World Cup title and beat Poland in five sets (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 17-25, 17-15) on the final day of fourth-round action at Yoyogi National Gym on Sunday. The Russians scored eight of the final nine points in the fifth set to notch the victory. By virtue of the scoring rules in place for the tournament, Russia only needed to win two sets to capture the championship. The match turned late in the second set when Poland star Zbigniew Bartman suffered a leg injury. He scored 11 points before getting hurt. Russia ended the World Cup with an impressive 10-1 record, while Poland finished 9-2. Denis Biryukov led Russia with 13 points; Dmitriy Muserskiy added 12 and was named the most impressive player of the match. Russia coach Vladimir Alekno commented after the match: â€œMy congratulations to Poland for their qualification for the Olympics. They got what they came here for. I am the happiest person on Earth today because it is my 45th birthday. I have to thank my team for the efforts in this tournamentâ€. Poland coach Andrea Anastasi added: â€œWe have played an incredible tournament. With only six months of work we have finished second in the World Cup. We had to play good to reach this position, but we must do more to reach the top level. We still must work harder in the futureâ€.



Brazil clinched a berth for the London Olympics with a victory over Japan in straights sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-22) on the final day of action at Yoyogi National Gym. Brazil entered the match needing not to concede two sets to finish third ahead of Italy and secure the Olympic berth. Brazil finished the tournament with an 8-3 record, while Japan went 2-9. Sidnei dos Santos paced Brazil with 15 points while Giba added 13. Dos Santos was named the most impressive player of the match. Kunihiro Shimizu led Japan with 15 points. Japan was just unable to cope with the speed and power of the Brazilians. Leading 19-16 in the second set, Japan collapsed and gave up the final nine points.



Italy notched a four-set victory (25-13, 25-17, 20-25, 25-18) over Iran on the final day of action in Tokyo; the triumph gave Italy an 8-3 record, while Iran finished the tournament 5-5. Michal Lasko scored a match-high 25 points for Italy in the win. Cristian Savani had 13 and was named the most impressive player of the match. Arash Kamalvand had 12 points for Iran in the loss. Amir Ghafour added 11 points. Italy took the first two sets in expeditious fashion and grabbed control of the match with fine passing and defense. Italy coach Mauro Berruto stated: â€œWe had a clear goal today and that was to win 3-0. It didnâ€™t happen. Iran was strong serving and blocking in the third set. If we donâ€™t make it to the Olympics it will be because of set ratio. I am proud of my players and staff. We fought until the very endâ€.



On the final day of 2011 FIVB World Cup play, Cuba took on Egypt at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium coming off a long five-set loss to the USA the night before. Egypt, who had won only one match in the tournament, battled well in every set, but Cuba took the match 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20), solidifying a respectable fifth-place finish in the World Cup. Fernando Hernandez Ramos started Sundayâ€™s action as the tournamentâ€™s leading scorer, and with 25 points against Egypt, he maintained a good chance at finishing on top, depending on the performance of Italian Michal Lasko against Iran. Cuban captain Wilfredo Leon Venero scored 18 points and Yassel Perdomo Naranjo had 11, including six key blocks. For Egypt, their star Ahmed Abdelhay showed he could attack with the best in the world, scoring 24 points in a determined effort.



Argentina went into the final day of the 2011 FIVB World Cup looking to end on a high note against China at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Sunday. They would solidify a seventh-place finish in the tournament with a 3-0 win over their opponents from the Far East (25-23, 31-29, 25-18). The win didnâ€™t come easy, but Argentina was led with a brilliant scoring exhibition by Facundo Conte with 24 points and right behind him was Federico Pereyra with 22. For China the leading scorer was Yuan Zhi with 14 points.



The USA, having taken a tough five set win against the explosive Cuban squad on Saturday night, took on European champions Serbia for their final match in the 2011 FIVB World Cup. Indeed Serbia played like champions in this one, taking the match 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-19) as the USA rested some players. Leading Serbia in scoring was their captain Ivan Miljkovic with 20 hard-hitting points, taking the most impressive player award in the process. For the USA team it was Sean Rooney notching 10 points in a losing effort. Serbia led the USA in blocking 11-7 and out-served five aces to three.



Best Players Awards

MVP: Maxim Mikhaylov (Russia)

Best Scorer: Fernando Hernandez Ramos (Cuba)

Best Spiker: Ahmed Abdelhay (Egypt)

Best Blocker: Marcin Mozdzonek (Poland)

Best Server: Cristian Savani (Italy)

Best Setter: Luciano De Cecco (Argentina)

Best Receiver: Sergio Santos (Brazil)

Best Libero: Ren Qi (China)



Daily Review

Day 11 | December 4, 2011