Tokyo, JAPAN, November 25 (fivb.ch) - Yugoslavia gave some clues of the Olympic champion team when it routed Korea 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-16) to promise a podium finish at the last moment.
After losing 3-0 to Brazil last night in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym, Yugoslavia popped up to take the third win out of five matches, overtaking Brazil (3-1) and Korea (2-3) to occupy the second place for a while.
But Brazil is set to win the silver medal here. The South American champion could edge off Yugoslavia on set differences even if it loses 3-0 to Japan, not mention the slim chance for Japan (1-3) topple Brazil.
A third place is a precise reflection of Yugoslavia's disappointing performances in the tournament as the European champion lost to Brazil and Cuba by identical 3-0s.
Tenacity is the only trait that the Koreans could boost of in the one-sided match, in which Yugoslavia breezed through to take first two sets by commanding results of 25-16 and 25-18.
Korea took the only lead at 9-8 in the third set, but fell apart again after that, with Yugoslavia pocketing the victory by 25-16.
World Cup last round results
YUGOSLAVIA - Korea 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-16)
Cuba - Argentina 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 26-24)
Brazil - Japan 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19)
World Cup - Final Rankings
G W L F-A Pts
1. Cuba 5 5 0 15- 3 10
2. Brazil 5 4 1 14- 4 9
3. YUGOSLAVIA 5 3 2 9- 7 8
4. Korea 5 2 3 7-10 7
5. Japan 5 1 4 4-14 6
6. Argentina 5 0 5 4-15 5
Earlier news
- World Cup, Round 4: YUGOSLAVIA - Brazil 0-3
- World Cup, Round 3: YUGOSLAVIA - Argentina 3-1
- World Cup, Round 2: YUGOSLAVIA - Japan 3-0
- World Cup, Round 1: YUGOSLAVIA - Cuba 0-3
