Saitama, Japan, November 19, 2006: Argentina came back from the dead to beat China in another Pool A marathon on Sunday.
The South Americans improved to 1-2 by beating China 22-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-17, 17-15 on their third match point to prevent a third consecutive defeat.
China had been the better team for much of the match but dropped to 1-2 in a tight group.
The opening exchanges were full of heavy hitting at the net. Yu Dawei and Wang Haichuan were quick to make an impression for China, and Argentina replied through Gustavo Porporatto and Alejandro Spajic.
Shen Qiong is a dynamic player for China, and he gave the South Americans an early demonstration of the threat he would pose from all angles of the court, helping his team lead 8-6 at the first TTO.
China built on this lead as the first set progressed, and when setter Jiang Fudong blocked Gustavo Scholtis on Argentina's left flank, China led 14-11 and forced Argentina into a TO.
A trademark spike from Yu, smashing the ball down the middle, retained China's three-point cushion through to the second TTO, 16-13.
Although Scholtis from the left side and Spajic at the net kept Argentina close, they could do nothing about another soaring back-court attack from the athletic Shen, 21-17.
A brilliant spike on the run from Marcos Milinkovic brought Argentina back to 22-20, only for Tang Miao on China's left to pound another winner and restore his team's three-point advantage.
An error on attack gave a point on a plate to Shen to move China to 24-21, and Gaston Giani served long to end the set, 25-22 China.
Whereas the Chinese players had shown a lot of determination and were vocal on court in their encouragement and celebrations, the Argentines had been strangely quiet and lacking the same level of confidence. The signs were not good for the rest of the match, unless they could find some drive and consistency.
Captain Milinkovic had provided seven of Argentina's points in the first set, and in the second they turned more to Giani for attacking support. Giani took Argentina to the first TTO ahead by one with a right-wing spike that the Chinese would have chased into the seats had it not been for an advertising board and technical staff desks in the way, such was their commitment to the cause.
A block by Spajic on Wang enabled Argentina to pull level 17-17 and force a China TO, and improved blocking and sharper spiking moved Argentina closer to the second set at 22-20.
With the pressure on, Porporatto came up with three huge points to take Argentina to the second set, 25-21, thanks to two blocks and a winner at the net.
Both teams suffered from poor serve reception in the third set, but the jousting at the net remained intense as Wang and Porporatto slugged it out. The back-court attacks of Shen remained impressive, too, as he rose imperiously and hammered the ball down at a sharp angle.
When Yu cut loose at the net for China, Argentina called a TO down 11-8. Shortly after, a Chinese player pushed the ball over for another point, and Milinkovic amusingly commented to the referee that they were not playing basketball.
China continued to press forward, with captain Sui Shengsheng scoring two straight points for 20-15 and bring about an Argentina TO. It was too late to save the set, though. A Shen block on Milinkovic brought up set point at 24-16, and Shen then sent a heavily sliced spike from the left to the floor for 25-17, 2-1 China.
The fourth set was going to be crucial for Argentina, not just to save the match but perhaps even for their future in the championships after the first week.
Setter Luciano De Cecco set the trend with a great block, and his teammates responded to open up a four-point lead at the first TTO. China were not prepared to let go, though, and a thundering ace from Yuan Zhi that fizzed past libero Pablo Meana helped close the gap to two at 12-10.
Argentina had finally found some momentum and were playing possibly their best volleyball of the week at this point. Spajic and Giani helped out their captain with a flurry of points as China began to look vulnerable and made too many errors.
Jeronimo Bidegain brought up set point at 24-16, and Porporatto poked one over that China could not retrieve, 25-17 and 2-2.
The Chinese came out for the fifth set full of determination again, and Shen and Milinkovic went head to head to trade early points. Argentina let themselves down on serve, though, whereas China's spiking became erratic.
Milinkovic was a class apart on the right flank, and Spajic struck at the net for Argentina to lead 8-6 at the turnaround. After an Argentina TO at 9-9, the teams went point for point. Argentina won it 17-15 on their third match point with a fine serve from Giani.
