Nagoya v Suntory highlights weekend in Japan

Third-placed Wolfdogs Nagoya against fourth-placed Suntory Sunbirds Osaka in one of the upcoming five double headers of the ninth leg in the men’s Daido Life SV.League in Japan is the highlight of this weekend’s programme.

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Captain Kenta Takanashi, Dutch scoring machine Nimir Abdel-Aziz, Slovenian standout Tine Urnaut and the rest of the Wolfdogs Nagoya squad will welcome defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka, featuring Japan’s Ran Takahashi, Poland’s Aleksander Sliwka and Russia’s Dmitriy Muserskiy among the many stars on their roster, to the Entrio on Saturday at 15:35 local time (06:35 UTC) and on Sunday at 14:35 (05:35). Nagoya stand on a 12-4 win-loss ratio and 36 points in third place, while Suntory are fourth on 10-4 and 31.

The two clubs have previously met 21 times in official matches and the head-to-head record stands at 12-9 Suntory’s way. The club also won the golden set they had to play with Nagoya in the 2022 final. Wolfdogs, however emerged victorious from their most recent encounter in March.

In another stellar clash this weekend, table leaders Osaka Bluteon host Tokyo Great Bears at the Panasonic Arena on Saturday and Sunday at 14:05 (05:05). Yuji Nishida, Thomas Jaeschke, Miguel Lopez and their teammates top the current standings on 12-2 and 36, while the team from the capital around Maciej Muzaj and Alexandre Ferreira are is in fifth place on 9-7 and 28.

Second-placed JTEKT Stings Aichi will visit Voreas Hokkaido for two evening matches on Saturday and Sunday, both starting at 18:35 (09:35) at the Hokkai Kitael. Aichi are on 13-3 and 33 in the runner-up position, while their hosts trail bottom in 10^th place on 1-13 and 6.

There will also be a couple of duels between teams in the bottom half of the standings. Hiroshima Thunders, standing in sixth place on 5-11 and 17, will entertain Toray Arrows Shizuoka, who are eighth on 4-10 and 12. The games at the FPCO Arena Fukuyama start at 14:05 (05:05) on Saturday and at 13:05 (04:05) on Sunday.

Seventh-placed Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers (4-10, 13) will host ninth-placed Nagano Tridents (4-10, 10) at the Nippon Steel Sakai Gymnasium on Saturday at 15:05 (06:05) and on Sunday at 13:05 (04:05).

Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 9th leg:
Dec 07, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Dec 07, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Tokyo Great Bears
Dec 07, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v Nagano Tridents
Dec 07, 15:35 local (06:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Dec 07, 18:35 local (09:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Dec 08, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Dec 08, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v Nagano Tridents
Dec 08, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Tokyo Great Bears
Dec 08, 14:35 local (05:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Dec 08, 18:35 local (09:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v JTEKT Stings Aichi

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