Brazil triumph in the South American Derby and get close to the Finals

Volleyball Nations League 2025 leaders Brazil opened their account in the third and last week of the tournament’s Preliminary Phase on Wednesday with a massive victory over continental rivals Argentina, which almost secured their spot in the tournament’s Finals.

The Brazilians were the better team in the South American Derby that got the third week of matches in the VNL 2025 started at the Chiba Port Arena and took a 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 25-18) victory over their continental rivals.

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Now leading the VNL 2025 with eight victories and 23 points, the Brazilians are nearly guaranteed in the Finals, which are going to be held in Ningbo, China, from July 30-August 3.

Opposite Alan Souza was the match’s top scorer with 20 points (18 kills, one block, one ace). Outside hitter Henrique Honorato was also very productive, contributing 18 points (17 kills, one ace) in the Brazilian victory.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Honorato reacted. “We played a good game today. We knew it was going to be a tough match against Argentina; it’s always difficult against them because they have a very good defensive system. We struggled a little bit at the end of the third set and lost the chance of winning in three. But we had a really good comeback, and I’m proud of our team.”

Opposite Pablo Kukatsev had a great performance off the bench and helped Argentina compete with the VNL leaders, tallying a team-high 17 points (16 kills, one block). Outside hitter Luciano Palonsky registered 15, with 11 kills, three aces and one block.

Argentina momentarily continue inside the qualification zone in seventh place with five wins and 13 points, but could end the day as low as 12^th

“Brazil played a great match, but I thought we also played well,” Palonsky said. “We still have a long way to go. We have three matches and we need to win two of them to have a chance of qualifying, so we’ll get back at it tomorrow.”

Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results

The first day of matches in Chiba will be completed with two more duels – Türkiye will face the United States at 15:30 local time (6:30 GMT) and hosts Japan will play against Germany at 19:20 (10:20 GMT).

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