[vc_row el_position=»first»][vc_column][vc_column_text el_position=»first»].
Japan erased a six-point deficit in the fifth set for a 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13) come-from-behind victory over resilient Thailand in the women’s Olympic final volleyball qualifying on Wednesday.
In a thriller that lasted almost three hours, Japan was down 12-6 in the tiebreaker but roared back to take all but one of the next 10 points, the game’s top scorer Saori Sakoda pouncing on match point to send Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium into delirium.
Japan caught a few breaks down the stretch as Thailand was penalized with two red cards that completely turned the tide in favor of the home team.
Sakoda finished with 24 points off the bench, Yuki Ishii adding 17. Captain Thinkaow Pleumjit, who described the referees’ decisions as “unfair,” led Thailand with 21 points[/vc_column_text][vc_tour interval=»0″ el_position=»last» title=»Comments»][vc_tab title=»Comments» tab_id=»1367944903-1-35″][vc_column_text el_position=»first last»]Sakoda finished with 24 points off the bench, Yuki Ishii adding 17. Captain Thinkaow Pleumjit, who described the referees’ decisions as “unfair,” led Thailand with 21 points.
“I’ve been around volleyball for a very long time but to come back from six points down in the last set is something that maybe happens once in a lifetime,” said Japan coach Masayoshi Manabe, whose team takes on the Dominican Republic on Friday.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tab][vc_tab title=»What they said!» tab_id=»1367944903-2-46″][vc_column_text el_position=»first last»]“It was a very difficult game and we escaped by the skin of our teeth. We knew all along Thailand was a good team. They don’t have height but they are quick and combine really well.
“This was an especially big game for Thailand so I was expecting it to be tough. The plan was that if we struggled, I was going to play our (London Olympic) medalists from the third set on.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tab][vc_tab title=»Impressions» tab_id=»1367945110766-3-2″][vc_column_text el_position=»first last»][icon type=»icon-font» size=»36″ float=»right» color=»#808080″]“Their experience was going to count. There is a lot of pressure on us at this competition and we lost to South Korea last night. We could not afford to lose this game.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tab][/vc_tour][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_position=»last»][vc_column width=»1/2″][vc_column_text el_position=»first last»]“This is a first for me, and I’ve been in this game for 20 years,” he said. “I have no idea what the referee was thinking. I wasn’t rude to him at all; I just asked him questions about the tablets we use for the substitutions.
“It’s incredibly unfair. I ask the referee questions and we get penalized. But the match is over now and all we can do is accept it. I’ve been pointing out the problem since the first day and it still hasn’t been corrected.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=»1/2″][vc_single_image image=»1553″ img_link_target=»_self» title=»Magapolis Basketball Arena»][vc_posts_slider type=»flexslider_fade» count=»5″ interval=»3″ link=»link_image» thumb_size=»slider-double» posttypes=»post» categories=»Fashion,Gaming,Entertainment,Food,Technology» orderby=»date» order=»desc» el_position=»first last»][/vc_column][/vc_row]