High-scoring Huang takes the Chinese Taipei to the quarterfinals

The top scorer of the 2024 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship, the Chinese Taipei’s opposite Huang Pin-Yen shone again on Tuesday, taking his country’s national team to the quarterfinals of the tournament held in Sofia.

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The eight national teams that continue in the race for the title will have a day off before returning to the court for Thursday’s quarterfinal matches, which will have Italy facing Iran at 11:00 local time (8:00 GMT), Argentina playing Egypt at 14:00 (11:00), Belgium meeting Spain at 17:00 (14:00) and Brazil dueling with the Chinese Taipei at 20:00 (17:00).

Standing at the top of the scoring charts with 110 points, the 16-year-old, left-handed Huang propelled the Chinese Taipei to a 3-1 (21-25, 25-9, 25-18, 25-16) comeback win over Puerto Rico with a superb 26-point (22 kills, two blocks, two aces) performance, his third-best in four matches in Sofia. Puerto Rico’s leading scorer was outside hitter Adrian Carrillo, with 12 points.

In the quarterfinals, the Asians will face Brazil, the only team which is yet to drop a set in the tournament. On Tuesday, the South Americans got their fourth sweep in Sofia, beating Libya 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-19) with 15 points from outside hitter Lucas Carvalho. Libyan opposite Muezbillah Balnnour had another solid performance, with 13 points.

Brazil will be one of two South American sides in the quarterfinals as continental rivals Argentina also advanced, eliminating hosts Bulgaria with a 3-1 (25-14, 25-17, 15-25, 25-23) victory. The Argentineans benefited from great teamwork to prevail as the team’s five starting hitters – outside hitters Federico Debonis (13) and Benjamin Flores (13), middle blockers Alvaro Ferrer Bassone (13) and Ivan Pavon (ten) and opposite Henry Sinner (12) – all got to double digits in scoring. Bulgaria had the match’s top scorer in outside hitter Aleksandar Dobrev, who tallied 22 (18 kills, four aces).

“It was a really tough match,” Sinner told the FIVB. “We’ve been working with this team for almost two years and to be among the best national teams in the world is really rewarding because it shows that all our hard work is paying off. But we want more and will fight for it.”

Argentina’s quarterfinal opponents Egypt didn’t have to worry about the Round of 16 on Tuesday as they were matched with Uzbekistan, who didn’t make it to Sofia for the tournament, and earned an automatic forfeit victory.

FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship: match schedule and results

Spain, on the other hand, had a real battle against Cuba to advance, needing all five sets to triumph 3-2 (26-24, 19-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-10) against the Caribbean. Captain César Irache and Rafael Tugores again carried the team's offense, combining for 43 points - 23 (22 kills, one ace) from the opposite and 20 (16 kills, four blocks) from the outside hitter. Cuban opposite Yosdani Medina registered 22 points, with 21 kills and one ace.

"Cuba played a very good match and that made things complicated for us," Irache explained. "Everything they did was working, but fortunately, despite our struggles, we still found a way to beat them in the end and get our team among the best eight in the world."

Their opponents Belgium also had a tough match, but handled it well, downing Tunisia 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-21) with an impressive 25 points (19 kills, five blocks, one ace) from middle blocker Tuur Vanbroekhoven. Outside hitter Mefteh Jasser led the Africans with 16 points.

Italy and Iran both had smooth matches in the Round of 16. The Europeans had no trouble beating Mexico 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-21) with 13 points from outside hitter Francesco Crosatto and another 12 from opposite Federico Argano.

The Asians were just as dominant against Chile, also progressing with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-12) victory. Middle blocker Taha Mohseni Bababdani and outside hitter Raouf Khoshhaldashliboroun split the team’s scoring load with 13 points each.

The teams that lost their Round of 16 matches will now fight for positions from 9^th-15^th – Uzbekistan will finish 16^th. Three duels will take place on Thursday, with Mexico and Chile opening the day at 11:00 local time (8:00 GMT), Tunisia and Cuba battling at 14:00 (11:00) and Libya and Puerto Rico meeting three hours later. Bulgaria, who were supposed to play Uzbekistan, will be awarded an automatic forfeit victory.

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