Although it may be a little late, let me first share my thoughts on OQT.
I was only able to watch the OQT in person on the first and third days, and the rest of the time I watched it online.
The countries that qualified for the Rio Olympics were Iran, Poland, France, and Canada, and the top four countries in the world rankings advanced. I am personally happy with this result, because the three countries I supported were able to secure their tickets to the Olympics.
The Japanese team ended up missing out on the tournament with two wins and five losses. It was disappointing to see the All Japan Men's Team at this tournament, especially after the match against China, as they seemed to have reverted to the "team you don't feel like cheering for" they were before the World Cup. It's true that Ishikawa's attack success rate was amazing, Dekita's high quick shots were often successful, and Yoneyama's skillful play was very cool. However, despite these individual successes, it seemed like the team, including the bench, was not functioning well.
Among all the matches in the tournament, the one that got me the most excited was the Poland vs. France match on the second day.
My favorite team is Poland, so I was rooting for the Polish team in that match. However, France was the opponent Poland lost to in straight sets in the European qualifiers in January. As expected, France took control of the match and took the first two sets (especially the second set, 13-25). France continued to lead until the middle of the third set, and I was starting to give up, thinking, "Another straight loss."
However, when the setter was replaced by Zizga at 7-12, the flow began to change. He focused on attacking with Konarski, but also actively involved the middle shots. This increased the team's overall attacking efficiency and reduced mistakes. Meanwhile, France continued to make mistakes, and Poland caught up at 21-21. After that, neither team was able to attack with their serves, and the game went to deuce with an exchange of side-outs, but in the end, Poland shut out France's Ngapet and took the third set 31-29.
From then on, the match was played at Poland's pace, and Poland won with a set score of 3-2. Both Zizga and Konarski stood out in the match, but as a team, we consistently targeted the opponent's ace Nugapet with our serves, reducing his attacking participation and stressing him out, which I think was a big factor in our victory. Anyway, as a Polish fan, it was a great match that allowed us to get revenge for the European qualifiers.
Well, while I've been hesitating to update my blog, the World League 2016 has already kicked off yesterday.
http://worldleague.2016.fivb.com/en (official website)
This year's World League will be split into three groups (almost) based on level, just like last year's. Poland and France will be in Group 1, Japan in Group 2, and Venezuela in Group 3.
Poland in the first week seems to be trying out young wing spikers, and yesterday's match was against 21-year-olds (Takahashi Kentaro generation) Szabuk and Bednos. Nevertheless, they won 3-1 against Bulgaria, where ace Sokolov returned. I don't know how deep the player base of this country is lol. Also, 22-year-old Muzai (also Takahashi generation), who I secretly paid attention to when I was in Poland, was selected for the first time. He is a promising opposite who ranked second in the best scorer rankings in the Polish league last season after Krek. Since he was only used as a one-point player yesterday, I'm looking forward to seeing him in full operation in the future.
On the other hand, Japan used Takahashi (for the third time lol) as the starter opposite yesterday, which made me think "Oh!", but after he replaced Shimizu in the middle of the first set, it was Shimizu's turn all the time. And it was the same in the match that was played today. The team going to the Olympics is trying to give their young players experience, but the team that missed the Olympics is playing with members that are almost the same as those in the OQT... It's sad.
However, the World League broadcasts almost all matches on the official FIVB YouTube channel, so be sure to check it out, even though there will be a time lag!
Photo: FIVB, PZPL
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