Argentina managed to make a full comeback against the tough team of Finland, thus preventing another surprise at the World Championship. Marcelo Mendez's boys had to give their all to avoid losing valuable ranking points and not make their group exit more difficult.

Almost an entire match was played by the record holder for appearances at World ChampionshipsLuciano De Cecco, who has already recorded his6th World Cup appearance (his first was in 2006). Despite his age (37 years), the setter continued to orchestrate the game of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalist with phenomenal passes.

The fourth set proved especially decisive, when the Finns took the lead and maintained a difference until the middle of the part (12:7), but the Argentinians started to press with their serve, the block also worked, and De Cecco was again in full swing. In the tie-break, things started evenly, but the South Americans played the second half of the last part with maximum concentration and deservedly took the two points.

The Finns left a very good impression with their game and were on the verge of defeating their famous opponent.

Result

Pool C – Preliminary Phase – Men #10
Quezon City, Philippines

Argentina – Finland 3:2 (19:25, 18:25, 25:22, 25:22, 15:11)

Team Statistics

Finland had the upper hand in attack (66 to 56) and on block (14 to 11), but the Argentinians compensated with many more points from opponent's errors (30 to 21).

Individual statistics

Jokela was the top scorer in the match with 26 points, but his efforts were not enough for a win.

For Argentina, Lube Civitanova's new opposite Pablo Kukartsev and Palonsky led the attack, and their effectiveness in decisive moments tipped the scales in favor of the South Americans.