A RETURN to the Promised Land or redemption?
That should be the targets of defending champion Italy and Poland, respectively when they clash in the semifinals of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The world No. 2 Poles clobbered Turkiye 25-15, 25-22, 25-19 in their quarterfinal duel on Wednesday night.
Wilfredo Leon tallied 13 points on nine hits, three blocks and an ace for Poland while middle blocker while this year’s VNL MVP Jacub Kochanowski chimed in 12 markers.
Skipper Bartosz Kurek also had 10 points as the Poles will tangle with the Azzurri in the Final Four on Saturday at the same venue.
“I’m happy for this win. Not every day you can win 3-0 especially against Turkey, which until now played very good volleyball,” Leon said.
“So, I’m happy that we are on the next step. We came here for it and we’re waiting for the next game (against Italy),” he added.
Earlier, the Italians were the first spikers who reached the semis of the world meet after they rolled to a 25-13, 25-18, 25-18 romp of Belgium in their Last Eight clash.
Six-foot-9 middle blocker Roberto Russo fired 12 points on six kill blocks, four attacks, and two aces for Italy while Alessandro Michielleto chipped in 11 markers.
Mattia Bottolo also had 10 for the Azzurri, who also got 30 excellent sets and four points from skipper and reigning MVP Simone Giannelli.
“It was not a goal for us but it was a dream to come again in this Top 4 in the World Championship,” Bottolo said. “It is difficult to repeat the same story because the level of the teams in the world is coming to the same average.
“For us, coming at this point showed that we can keep growing and show how strong Italy is in the world.”
