China Retains Title of Asian Junior Women's VolleyballDefending champion China came back from a luckluster performance in the first set to crush Japan 3-1 and won the title anew in the 10th Asian Junior Women's Volleyball Championship in the Northwestern Philippine city of Dagupan.Chinese coach Cai Bin said his team put more firepower in the offensive after Japan won the first set 25-18, to rule in the second, third and fourth sets, 25-12, 25-16 and 25-20, and preserve the title it last won two years ago in Thailand. He conceded his team did not play well in the attack in the first set, explaining why Japan won in that stretch but the pendulum of the game changed from there when his tall players, Bai Yun, Liu Xiaojia took the offensive Bai spiked 15 points and Liu added another 12 to break the back of the shorter but determined Japanese squad and combined with He Quing, Yang Xinjia and Hu Lifang to erect an insurmountable lead. "Japan is a very good team. They played well and were very tough," said China's team captain He Quing. It was Japan's only loss in the tournament, for a 4-1 card thus salvaging a second-place finish in the eight-team tournament hosted by Dagupan City. South Korea, with a 3-3 slate, edged out Thailand earlier in three straight sets to finish third with the latter wounding fourth for a 2-4 card. Chinese Taipei nipped the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also in three sets, to finish fifth with two victories and three defeats with the latter wounding sixth place for its third defeat against only two victories. The taller Kazakhstan team prevailed against an unprepared Philippines for seventh place for its only victory in the tournament against four setbacks. |
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