HIROSHIMA TAKES OVER COVETED SIXTH PLACE, BUT SUFFERS IMPORTANT SETBACK

Recap of men’s SV.League 20th-leg matches

Photo source: @Thunders_JT

With the spotlight on the last remaining vacancy in the men’s Daido Life SV.League playoffs, the 20th leg of the regular season offered a switch between the sixth and the seventh-placed teams in the current standings this weekend. Hiroshima Thunders took over Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers’ spot above the cut-off line, but suffered a setback in one of their matches that could eventually prove fatal in the race for the quarterfinals.

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Hiroshima Thunders visited bottom-placed Voreas Hokkaido for a double header this weekend. On Saturday, they lived up to their higher ranking and mastered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22) shutout, inspired by their 38-year-old Cuban outside hitter Oreol Camejo, who spearheaded the team with a match-high 18 points. On Sunday, however, Voreas struck back with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 27-25) upset. Their opposite Chang Yu-Sheng from Chinese Taipei was the most prolific scorer of the match with 20 points, including three aces and two kill blocks. Saturday’s success helped Hiroshima surpass Sakai in sixth place on a 15-25 win-loss ratio and 47 points, but with their main rival’s two games in hand, Saturday’s loss may bear a heavy cost on Hiroshima’s bid for a quarterfinal spot. In fact, Sakai’s last two games of the regular season are also against Voreas, who still trail bottom in 10th place on 6-32 and 24.

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Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers lost both of their matches at home this weekend, but against a much more sizeable opponent, Wolfdogs Nagoya. In the first one, Dutch opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz powered Nagoya to a 3-1 (16-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19) victory with 31 points, including two aces. In the second, he fired another 32 points, including three aces and three kill blocks, towards another 3-1 (25-27, 28-26, 25-18, 25-14) win. Sakai dropped to seventh place on 14-24 and 45, while Nagoya made a solid step towards a top-two finish and a direct ticket to the semifinals, improving to 33-7 and 97 in second place.

Table leaders Osaka Bluteon also made a big step towards the semifinals with two away wins over JTEKT Stings Aichi. On Saturday, they mastered a 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-20) sweep with a match-high 16 points, including four kill blocks, from outside Shoma Tomita. Sunday’s match was pushed to five before the visitors could celebrate another win, 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 24-26, 15-13), with Cuban outside Miguel Lopez leading the way with 26 points. Aichi’s opposite Kento Miyaura was the best scorer of the match with 28 points, including three aces and two blocks. Osaka top the standings on 33-5 and 95, while Aichi are in fourth place on 22-18 and 60.

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Defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka are the only team that could pose a threat on Osaka and Nagoya for the top two spots in the final regular season standings. They are running third on 30-8 and 90, after two home wins over Nagano Tridents this weekend. In Saturday’s 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22) sweep, Cuban outside Alain De Armas was above all with 18 points, including four aces and two blocks. In Sunday’s 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 37-39, 25-22) victory, Russian opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy topped the charts with 26 points. Nagano stand second from the bottom, in ninth place on 9-29 and 24.

Fifth-placed Tokyo Great Bears and eighth-placed Toray Arrows Shizuoka traded victories in their double header. In the first game, the visitors from Shizuoka came back from a set down twice to produce a 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 15-13) upset. The winners’ scorers were led on 21 points each by outside hitter and captain Tobias Takeshi Shigeto, whose tally featured four kill blocks and three aces, and Italian striker Francesco Recine. Tokyo’s Portuguese opposite Alexandre Ferreira was the best scorer of the match with 26 points, including four aces and two blocks. The home team struck back with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) shutout on Sunday, spearheaded by outside Rikuto Goto with 17 points. Shigeto was the most prolific scorer of that match with 18 points to his name. Tokyo, who are already qualified for the playoffs, stand on 21-19 and 67. In eighth place on 11-27 and 33, Toray Arrows still hold a distant shot at the quarterfinals.

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Another full set of five double headers will be played next weekend, on Saturday, March 29, and Sunday, March 30.

Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 21st leg:
Mar 29, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Voreas Hokkaido
Mar 29, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Mar 29, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Nagano Tridents
Mar 29, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Tokyo Great Bears
Mar 29, 15:35 local (06:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Osaka Bluteon
Mar 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Voreas Hokkaido
Mar 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Mar 30, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Nagano Tridents
Mar 30, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Tokyo Great Bears
Mar 30, 14:35 local (05:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Osaka Bluteon

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