Rafail Koumentakis of Greece tries to get the ball past the triplle block of Puerto Rico's Sequiel Sanchez, Pedro Nieves and Edgardo Goas.
Thessaloniki, Greece, June 24, 2016 - Greece edged Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 27-29, 26-24) for the second time in two consecutive weekends to retain pole position in the FIVB World League Group 3 standings and advance to within a win of a ticket to the Final Four next week in Frankfurt.
Andreas Frangos with 20 points and a 64% kill ratio (18/28) was once more the striking force of Greece, with Rafail Koumentakis adding another 17. Captain Sequiel Sanchez led Puerto Rico with 17 points. Greece had already beat Puerto Rico 3-0 last week in the city of Kozani, which was Greece's first ever win at the World League. Team's great disposition in service (9 aces overall) was one of the keys to win over Puerto Rico tonight.
Puerto Rico reacted after they found themselves trailing by two sets, but even then it took them three set balls of their own after cancelling two match balls of Greece's to stay alive in the game.
But the Caribbean side weren't satisfied with just a set and kept the pressure on throughout the fourth set, pushing Greece to their limits and making the Greeks take two match points before bringing the match home after a wide attack by Steven Morales.
Greece's block was slow to get going, with just one stuff in the first two sets, but eventually the home side outblocked Puerto Rico 9 to 6. Greece also produced a more stable reception with 62% to 45%.