Sixth weekend World League: two spots for Final Round open for grab

(BEIJING, July 19) -- The sixth weekend of the World League started this Friday with Poland, France, China and Serbia chasing the remaining two Final Round places.

In the first battle between Serbia and France for the Pool A spot in the Final Round, Serbia turned the game around in the third set to claim the first match at 23:25, 18:25, 25:21, 25:19 and 15:8.

Pool A's Brazil, guaranteed as host country to go to the Final Round, beat Venezuela 3-0 (25-23, 25-16 and 29-27) in Goiania, Brazil.

In pool B, Russia, who already grabbed a place to the final round, met winless Republic of Korea. This match had no affect on the two teams' standings, but the ROK team is quite young and full of ambition. They played very actively in the beginning and claimed the first set with 25-22. But Russia eventually changed the course of the game and won.

While pool B's Italy was defeated by Russia twice last weekend, they clinched a very important win over Cuba 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21) in the first match of the series held in Turin, Italy. (The World League series is played in multiple locations.)

Finland in pool C won over Spain 3-2 (23-25, 23-25,25-23,25-23,15-11)in their match in Tempere, Finland on Friday. The Finns will try to claim another victory to take them to the third place in pool C.

Bulgaria won 3-2 (25:22, 24:26, 25:16, 23:25, 15:10) against the leader of pool C United States, who already qualified for the final round, in front of a home crowd more than 6,200-people strong.

Host Poland in pool D had an easy win over Egypt 3-0 in straight sets. The No. 10 player Mariusz Wlazly was chosen as the MVP of the match.

The World League Intercontinental Round will close on Sunday, with the Final Round in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil scheduled for July 23-27.