Brazil beat US for World GP Finals final
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-08-01 09:15

Brazil beat the United States in five sets in Reggio Calabria on Saturday to cruise into the final of the women's volleyball 2004 World Grand Prix Finals.

Brazilian head coach Jose Guimaraes celebrated his 50th birthday with the 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 21-25 and 19-17 victory.

"It's the best present I can get from my players," said Guimaraes at the press conference after the match.

"The United States is very difficult to beat and we had some luck today," he added. "I am happy that we worked together till the end for the victory."

The two traditional volleyball powerhouses traded leads in the tiebreaker before the United States went up 17-16 through a hit ofLogan Tom. However, Brazil ran off three straight points from then on with Steinbrecher Marianne stuffing Tom to conclude the match in nearly two hours.

"Our hardwork turned to be in vain, we are very disappointed," said the United States' Japanese head coach Yoshida Toshiaki. "We still have to improve."

Brazil enjoyed a balanced offense with Menezes Valaska and DiasCristine scoring 15 points each and Coimbra Erika and Marianne adding 14 apiece.

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