Saturday’s game offered an epic five-set battle, at the end of which Tokyo delighted the home crowd of almost nine thousand fans with a 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 33-21, 15-13) victory. As many as three players shared the top scorer honors with 21 points each. Tokyo’s star opposite Bartosz Kurek hammered 19 kills in attack and two kill blocks for the winners. Robinson raised four kill blocks, fired one ace and spiked 16 in offense, while Arai registered 20 successful swings and one blocking point. A few more players reached the double digits – outside hitters Goto and Masahiro Yanagida with 17 and 16, respectively, and middle blockers Jan Kozamernik of Slovenia and Go Maruyama with 10 each for Tokyo, and Roque with 19, and middle blocker Hiromasa Miwa with 14 (including five stuffs) for Hiroshima.
“The two consecutive matches against the Hiroshima Thunders were extremely tough,” said Tokyo’s Finnish coach Kasper Vuorinen after that spectacular game. “Yesterday, we were constantly pushed back by the opponent's powerful offense and were unable to bring in our own style, resulting in a disappointing result. On the other hand, today's match was a great achievement in that we were able to stabilize our reception and create our own rhythm from there. Especially at crucial moments, we were able to tenaciously contain the opponent's ace and fight patiently, which I believe led to our five-set victory. It wasn't an easy match, but it was one that allowed us to grow as a team.”
