Rotterdam, Netherlands, July 15 - Yugoslavia lost the match with Italy in the fifth round of the World League final tournament and in the third place match will play with Brasil.
Up and down match with spectacular end; Italy into
the final!
Yugoslavia had a flashing start against Italy. The
spiking of the Yugoslavian players couldn't be
stopped by the Italian block and defense. Although coach
Anastasi replaced Tofoli for Meoni, the Italians didn't
came into the game.
In the second set the Italians
got more grip on the team of the brothers Grbic.
Especially Gardini had a strong blocking period. The
Italians scored ten points in a row and made the
result after two sets equal.
From 3-3 in the following
set the Yugoslavs took the lead. Vladimir Grbic and
Goran Vujevic were in great form and guided their
team to an advantage in the game after three sets.
The fourth period was very dramatic. Key players,
Andrea Sartoretti and Luigi Mastrangelo, brought
Italy into the fifth set. In this last spectacular set
Italy had the strongest nerves and won with 12-15.
World League, Final Six, Round 5, Rotterdam, Netherlands, July 15
YUGOSLAVIA - ITALY 2-3 (25-16, 15-25, 25-17, 23-25, 12-15)
Set duration: 1st - 18', 2nd - 17', 3rd - 21', 4th - 23', 5th - 13'.
"Ahoy" Hall. Attendance: 1,800. Referees: Rodriguez (Portugal) and Leuthaeuser (Germany).
YUGOSLAVIA: Batez (points: 3), Kovac, Boskan, Mester (6), Mijic, Grbic Nikola (4), Grbic Vladimir (19), Geric (9), Vujevic (14), Miljkovic (11), Petkovic, Vusurovic (1).
ITALY: Gardini (7), Meoni (2), Mastrangelo (7), Tofoli (1), Papi (6), Sartoretti (16), Bracci (4), Rosalba (16), Molteni, Corsano, Giani (8), Fei (5).
World League, Final Six, Round 1
YUGOSLAVIJA - Russia 0-3 (23-25, 20-25, 22-25)
Italy - USA 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23)
Brasil - Netherlands 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-21)
World League, Final Six, Round 2
YUGOSLAVIA - Netherlands 3-1 (25-19, 15-25, 25-20, 25-13)
Italy - Russia 3-2 (26-24, 19-25, 25-22, 13-25, 17-15)
USA - Brasil 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-11)
World League, Final Six, Round 3
YUGOSLAVIA - USA 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 36-34, 25-14)
Italy - Brasil 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-24)
Russia - Netherlands 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 26-24)
World League, Final Six, Round 4
YUGOSLAVIA - Brasil 3-0 (25-21, 30-28, 25-16)
Russia - USA 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21)
Netherlands - Italy 3-1 (25-23, 25-27, 25-19, 25-22)
World League, Final Six, Round 5 - other results
Brasil - Russia 3-2 (25-12, 20-25, 25-11, 18-25, 15-11)
Netherlands - USA 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 25-18, 26-28, 15-13)
Standings after 5 rounds
| ITALY | 5 | 4 | 1 | 13-8 | 9 |
| RUSSIA | 5 | 3 | 2 | 13-8 | 8 |
| YUGOSLAVIA | 5 | 3 | 2 | 11-8 | 8 |
| BRASIL | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8-11 | 7 |
| NETHERLANDS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7-12 | 7 |
| USA | 5 | 1 | 4 | 8-14 | 6 |
Final match
July 16: ITALY - RUSSIA
Third place match
July 16: YUGOSLAVIA - BRASIL
