With Rebeca Andrade in the crowd, the team led by coach Bernardinho beats the Argentines by 3 sets to 2
Under the leadership of the young and talented Darlan, the Brazilian volleyball team redeemed itself from the poor performance against Cuba with a great victory in a five-set battle this Thursday, taking revenge on its arch-rival Argentina. The Superliga champion with Sesi-Bauru, at just 21 years old, scored 20 points and led the triumph by 3 sets to 2, scores of 25/13, 20/25, 19/25, 25/22 and 15/ 11 for the second round of the Nations League, at Maracanãzinho.
With the special support of gymnasts Rebeca Andrade, Jade Barbosa and Flávia Saraiva and an extremely active crowd, Brazil greatly improved the fundamentals that didn’t work against the Cubans, such as the block, attacks to the center of the net and the serve. Showing concentration to overcome a delicate moment of the match and, with the strong play expected on his debut, he finished in a tie-break.
This Friday, with no time to rest, Brazil will face another great challenge, this time against Serbia, a match in which they will seek their second triumph with the return of coach Bernardinho. The first phase of the Nations League will end on Sunday morning against Italy.
After winning the bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games, the Argentines came back to defeat Brazil 3-0 in the final of the South American Championship, in Recife, last year. Winning the classic at Maracanãzinho was not only a matter of honor, but important to take revenge and complicate the search for a place in Paris-2024 by the historic rivals who started the match in seventh place in the standings. And shake off the “customer” label.
The defeat on the debut against Cuba made coach Bernardinho change his team. Midfielder Lucão, spared, made way for Isac in the starting line-up. Adriano was spotted from the start in place of Leal, the top scorer of Tuesday’s match, in a courageous exchange for Bernardinho.
The team entered the field with a celebration before the first point, in the chapel excited during the national anthem. With the stands full again, we hoped for a better performance. There was no lack of support. Nor trust. But it was necessary to serve better – there were 19 errors against Cuba – and to fix the block, which was ineffective in the debut.
The first good advantage in a partial that started balanced came with the Brazilian’s first block and then with a counterattack that brought the team 7-4. The Argentinians couldn’t find anything good and Darlan forced coach Marcelo Mendez – he won everything while leading Cruzeiro – to ask for the first half with 10 to 5. Darlan turned over all the balls.
Unlike the match against Cuba, the Brazilian errors were also successful and the team scored a point. The selection was more “connected” and precise. The blocking helped and there were no wasted attacks or counterattacks. With another success from Darlan, his sixth point of the set, Brazil increased the lead to 15-7.
Without any fear and with a great performance, Brazil opened 1-0 with Adriano closing the half with an impressive 25-13. Darlan, who scored just 10 points against the Cubans, was the highlight of the set with nine well-executed attacks.
After starting the second set well, at 5-3, Brazil made three errors in a row and saw the Argentines take the lead. Lucarelli didn’t let the brothers get emotional. Darlan brought the team back to 11-10 after a great save by Lucarelli.
In a moment of lack of Brazilian stability, Argentina managed to take a 17-14 lead and forced Bernardinho to take the first break. The coach chose to calm the players, saying that the errors had already passed and he showed confidence in their reaction in the partial. He had to ask for another break with 22 to 18 against, asking Brazil to rotate. The draw in sets came after an error by Adriano and it was 25 to 20.
The third set begins with confusion, after an exaggerated celebration from Danani and an attack from Bruninho, who crosses the court to complain about the Argentine libero’s posture. The setter was punished with a yellow card. Bernardinho asked the Brazilians to calm down, but the brothers immediately took a 3-1 lead. The match became tense.
After conceding a 6-6 draw, Argentina once again dominated the scoreboard. Bruno Lima, Vincentín and Palonsky began to overcome the yellow-green block with ease. Brazil loses concentration with the provocation and errors appear in series: 11 to 6. The lead increases to seven points at 21 to 14. Without vibrations, the reversal reaches 25 to 19.
Needing to react in the fourth set, Brazil wasted an important counterattack with Darlan to open a two-point lead at the start of the set. At least he walked point for point with his opponents. Until Isac, in the middle, finally puts Brazil with two more points on the scoreboard: 14 to 12.
The crowd reignited and Lucarelli began to launch his attacks. And the loot too. With an ace from number 7, Brazil takes a significant lead 18 to 15. Then, thanks to Flávio’s block and Adriano’s attack, it goes up to 22 to 18. The team opens 24 to 21, but wastes the first two opportunities to close. Lucarelli equalizes the match and eases the tension. The First Nations League match will be decided by tie-break.
The shortest set begins with Lucarelli’s ace and Darlan scoring his 18th point on the break. Opening two starting points was essential to destabilize the Argentines. But Darlan’s touch on the net leaves everything the same: 3-3 The boy redeems himself by making it 5-3 and vibrating a lot.
The comeback comes at 8-6 after a central ball from Isac. With Lucarelli’s attack Brazil goes up 10 to 7. “Oh, Brazil olê, Brasil olê”, the fans were already cheering when Argentina called for a time-out. The pointer, with a strong serve, leaves the team at 11 to 7. After a ball out from Vicentin, 14 to 10 and desperation from the opponents. Only a miracle could save Argentina. He didn’t come, as Flávio defined it.
Source: Terra
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