The Day When Japan Volleyball Trio Showed Who is the BOSS !!!

...leader with the error. I think he saw that Masao was moving out to him. Fantastic, Ishikawa, he knows what he wants to do, finds the space. You see the little hop from Masao there, he's been having to pay so much attention to Yamamoto in attack, opens up the scene for Ishikawa to score cross court. Wow, we have some hit and some dig from Yamamoto. This is phenomenal, the tempo, the power, the angle, the control. And on the ball that's over the top of the block. When, I mean that's a pretty good jump serve, but for Japan it was almost like a free ball. To say it casually, they're just knocking it in. But the great thing that if you're following the game here of how Sakita's running his offense, quite the great Roddy Piper, just when you think you know all the answers, he changes the questions. Masao back to the serving line. A miss hit always works, the paintbrush, a bit of backspin on it, guaranteed to score. It's unpredictable, that's for sure. And a note for the keen-eyed, watching the difference in the reception technique between Yamamoto and Takahashi Ishikawa. Yamamoto really trying to keep the tempo as possible, low and flat. Ishikawa and Takahashi just giving a bit more time. And I guess that's because one of them, if it's they're the one that's passing, they're the one who's also got to get out to go hit. So they're creating the time for themselves, all up there is okay here. He may have jammed his finger against Takahashi's foot. Kept them where they needed to be. Not quite Saitsev-level taping, but there's a lot of protection there for him. You must need a sponsor for the amount of tape he puts on his hands, Saitsev. Oh, that's an error. I mean, looking at Saitsev, it's probably like a roll of finger in this. It's just incredible. This is an unforced error from Herrera. And now, the timeout. Japan with a five-point lead. Good lead by Garcia. And it'd be very easy for Cuba to be frustrated at this point. Every team that has played Japan so far in BNL has been on the losing side. So this is a great opportunity for them to test themselves against what is, at the moment, the best team in the world. Now, I guess that's an accolade that Japan will want to not adopt at any time, will they? They don't suddenly want a big, oh my goodness, we're the best team in the world. That just doesn't fit with the culture. They don't want to be celebrating themselves. They want to stay humble. They want to keep working. And I think the energy they have in this group will do that pretty well. Well, they just want to get to the end of the BNL, don't they? And if they get to the end of the BNL and they're on the podium, that will be absolutely incredible. But the way they're playing their volleyball right now, there's no reason to think they could not achieve that. Good swing from Ram. I love those, the thumb-dang. Just come up, thumb-dang. If you make that action at home, wherever you're watching, swing on the ball, put your thumb-dang to the floor, you'll get that spin to get that angle you want. And his ability to do it so late. He waits and waits. And just when he sees the last second of space, he can flick that wrist around, cut the ball back. Good up. Oh, what a set. Oh, he's not made it. Didn't catch the block either. So an unforced error from Nishida. But they created the chance, didn't they? Because on the first swing from Yant, Takahashi actually called hands on the block. So to control that ball is very impressive. But Sekita needs to find a way to get Nishida back into the offense. He's just running a little bit cold at the moment. Good leave by Sekita. Excellent. Lopez doing the business. 1m89. If you believe the stats, he jumps and touches it. 3'31". The net height, 2'43". Do the math. Look at how high in contact with that ball above the net. And to put it into perspective, that 2'43", 8 foot, same height as the crossbar in soccer and football. Good swing from Ram. The speed of their pipe attack. Look at Japan's. Something else at times. Oh, goodness me. Oh, what a shame. He's made a change. Looked like he's going to have a swing, saw the blocks, and he's made his try to change what he was doing and hasn't come off. But what a dig in the first place, though, from Japan. And it's a small adjustment for the Cuban block. He's not getting that clean look down the line that he was getting early on. The IQ is off the charts at times for these players. Just such a soft touch. His control on the ball is making this. And a lot of players in that situation might just poke or push. Ishikawa has really good control, really good touch. It's almost magical when they kind of go put their hands around the ball. It's just like in the air, isn't it? They're actually touching. It's floating. Oh, it's now gone over the block. Oh, it's a ball. Another free ball. Four attacking options. Four on three. And there's going to be a space somewhere. And it was a space that Japan ran into. Oh, yes. That tackle serve has done real damage to Cuba. Trying to run a pipe and cost them points more often than not. And the time in between points now becomes really important for Cuba. They almost got caught out of rotation at the point before. They need to stay together. They need to stay connected. Side out achieved. Cuba still in the set. And they'll need to get a bit of a step on. If they are going to turn things around. Full Milano in the playoffs. Alongside Manavac to serve. And he just, he was a bit quiet in one of the games. And then he just came to life and was another level altogether. And it's good work. Gutiérrez is getting on the board. And Cuba getting the side out. Japan now they only need two to get the job done. They're making a change. Tomita coming in for Ishikawa. This is just for him to play across the back row. Play some defense. Do some passing. Whether he gets a pipe attack remains to be seen. And it's a role for Japan to be developing. If there's any weakness in Ishikawa's game, it's his reception. Not quite at the level of his attack. That was just a joy to watch. Ran past that ball. All right, it was top spin. It was off pace. But the fact he was already there. Shoulders up and out. Holding that platform. Sakita knew where it was going for him. Touched his arms. And then he's able to run exactly what he wants. Set point for Japan. That was a good serve. It's a net touch against Concepcion. So Japan take the set. 25-16. And they leave Cuba by two sets to nothing. The teams will now have their one and only end change. Thanks for watching. Leave a like and make sure to subscribe to Power Volleyball for more volleyball videos.