Men's Volleyball Club World Championship 2023 Points Table: Updated Standings after Sir Sicoma Perugia vs Itambe Minas
Defending champions Sir Sicoma Perugia of Italy began their men’s Volleyball Club World Championships 2023 campaign with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Itambe Minas in their Pool A clash at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.
The Italian club tops the Pool A points table with a point ratio of 1.187. Minas sits in second spot with one win and one loss in the Pool.
Ahmedabad Defenders are third after two league matches in the group, though they have played only one.
Earlier in Pool B, four-time world champions Sada Cruzeiro Volei started their campaign with a hard-earned win over the resilient Suntory Sunbirds, 3-2, in what was the first five-game thriller of the tournament.
Despite the win, the Brazilian giants remain second on the points table in Pool B. According to the tournament format, a team winning by the margin of 3-2 earns three points under normal regulations, but the losing side also takes one point for displaying immense effort.
Consequently, the Japanese club topped the table charts of Pool B and also became the first club to qualify for the semi-final in the Club World Championship. Halkbank Spor Kulubu is placed third with no points and one more game to go.
Here is how the points table of Pool A and Pool B look after the Day 2 matches.
Sada Cruzeiro, Perugia stamp their authority on Day 2
Even though the Suntory Sunbirds saved four match points in the third set and enforced a decider, Sada Cruzeiro Volei won the 15-point game. The Brazilian club won 25-21, 31-29, 28-30, 22-25, 15-12.
Sir Sicoma Perugia started with dominance in the first game but saw some challenge from Itambe Minas in the next two sets, though they got past the 25-point score in each of the sets and won 25-18, 26-24, 25-22.
Ahmedabad and Halkbank have their tasks cut out when they take on the two former champions in their respective group fixtures on Friday. A win for Halkbank against SVC will guarantee the Turkish club a spot in the semis.
Meanwhile, Ahmedabad need to ensure they seal an emphatic win over the Italian giants to boost their point ratio to pip either of the two teams on the points table in Pool A.