Brazil - Yugoslavia 3-1 (26-24, 22-25, 27-25, 25-23)

Yugoslavia's Nikola Grbic is seen after the semifinal match (AP)

Cordoba, ARGENTINA, October 10 (fivb.ch) - Brazil is the first finalist of the 2002 Men's World Championship after defeating Olympic Champion Yugoslavia in the semifinal played in Cordoba, Argentina. The last time Brazil played the gold medal match was exactly twenty years ago, also in Argentina. The Yugoslavians, defeated for the first time this event, couldn't cope with the strong Brazilian block and service.

The first set was very tied set, in which Yugoslavia had a slight advantage. Due to some Brazilian reception problems, Yugoslavia managed to make a five point gap. But then the Brazilian setter Ricardo Garcia and opposite attacker Anderson Rodriguez came on the court and improved the Brazilian level. Good serving pressure and effective blocking gave Brazil the set victory.

The second set was again equal. On the Brazilian side Ricardo Garcia played very nice quick sets, while Yugoslavia scored many points with its powerful attacks. Ivan Miljkovic and Goran Vujevic were key Yugoslavian players. The Olympic and European Champion leveled the match by winning the second set.

Nalbert Bitencourt celebrates after defeating Yugoslavia (AP)

As in the previous sets, the third set was also a real battle. Both teams served very powerful and scored with great spikes. Brazil finally won the third set. because the South American Champion was able to play a quicker game that caused problems for the Yugoslavian blockers.

During the fourth set, Brazil had a great start and outplayed Yugoslavia. After the Brazillians made a five point gap, the Yugoslavian coach Veselin Vukovic brought Vladimir Grbic on the court. He, libero Vasa Mijic and Ivan Miljkovic brought Yugoslavia back in business. It was a Nalbert Bitencourt, the Brazilian captain, who stopped the Yugoslavian come back and brought Brazil the victory.

Yugoslavian Ivan Miljkovic was the best scorer with 21 points, closely followed by Brazilian Anderson Rodriguez, who scored 19 points

"I am very happy to be a part of this team which did things very well today," Brazilian setter Ricardo Garcia said.

SEMIFINAL:
Brazil - Yugoslavia 3-1 (26-24, 22-25, 27-25, 25-23)
Russia - France 3-2 (25-19, 16-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-9)

Third place match: Yugoslavia - France
FINAL: Brazil - Russia