Brazil will be Italy's opponent in the Women's Nations League semifinals. In the second quarterfinal in Macao, the South Americans came back against Japan and won 3:1(24:26,25:22,25:16,25:20), despite being without stars Gabi and Julia Kudiess.
The most productive player was Ana Cristina with 30 points (2 aces, 3 blocks), also recording 14 digs in defense and 46% positive reception. Bergman added 24 points, and Rosamaria contributed 12. For Japan, Wada scored 19 points, Ishikawa 15, and Sato 12.
The key to Brazil's success was their blocking game, where Ze Roberto's team had a significant advantage – 15 successful blocks against 8 for the Japanese. Both teams committed 15 unforced errors.
After dramatically losing the first set, the Brazilians gradually asserted their dominance. They equalized after a strong finish in the second set, completely dominated the third, and in the fourth, they erased a three-point deficit to secure the final victory.
Thus, in Saturday's semifinal, Brazil will face world and Olympic champions Italy in one of the tournament's most anticipated clashes.