Posts by Genius of the Sky

    Judging from Brazil's current performance, I think they will once again be the contender for gold in Tokyo. This new team managed to drag the Olympic gold medalists team to 5th set, and gave a convincing fight. It is interesting to see how they will develop even more in the future.


    Gabi is a very welcomed addition to this team as she is the most stable passer and has crazy back-court defensive skills. Sort of like Jaque.

    Gabi Guimaraes should be there. No reason to leave out Brazil's most stable receiver. Rosamaria is 65 percent yes /35 percent out as she can play opposite hitter unless someone other than her improves.

    oh yeah i forgot about her. notice that when she came back, brazil's passing has become a lot more stable and back court defense also got better.

    Even though they lost, but somehow this is my favorite Brazil's performance so far (for this new generation). They fought hard. I was expecting a 3-0 or 3-1 from China, but Brazil managed to drag it to the fifth set.


    More and more, Roberta has secured her place as the starting setter. She is getting more comfortable with the players and her own self on court. Dani Lins can say goodbye to her starting spot as the NT setter unless she miraculously step up her game during Superliga season.


    And I must say that Gabi is slowly turning into the next Jacque --- being one of the best defensive OHs. Her back-row coverage has been amazing and her defensive skills are crazy. Plus, she is very light on her feet, too. I missed seeing her on court and now she is back with a vengeance.


    And I can see that Coach Ze is using his old formula again -- putting all his main starter through as much games and tournaments as possible. These players won't get any rest like any other NT do during "not-so-important" tournament. Coach Ze is going to put them through every competition, trying to shoot 2 birds with one stone --1. to give as much experience as possible to the players in terms of their own performance, and 2. to let these players play against so may variations of games and teams. Hopefully, unlike 2016, this one will work out.

    as for know, judging from the performance of the previous tournaments, imo these players have secured their place until Tokyo 2020.


    1. Natalia
    2. Roberta
    3. Bia
    4. Carol
    5. Tandara
    6. Gabi (libero) -- shocking tbh


    the rest are up for grabs


    I assume you mean Uchesito as the short one. I'm really eating crow with her. Never liked her, still don't, but damn she's playing well. Jumps high, hits hard, has a number of ways to softly tap the ball to open floor instead of cracking it every time. Not to mention she's a receiving robot machine.


    As for the tall one ... Nomoto or Horikawa? I'm happy with both of them. Nomoto is getting the minutes in Koga's absence and is delivering, I think. Horikawa is taller but plays OP.

    It is actually Nomoto because I know Horikawa. I hope I can see the Ishii-Nabeya duo some time in this tournament just to see how it will work.

    Watching the JPN v KOR game. These Asian games are more fun to watch, for me. It may not actually be true but it seems like the rallies are longer and the digs are better, at least the quantity of quality digs. And the sportsmanship and attitude are more attractive. I like this Korean group over the recent one. I like the setter better, the libero, I'm happy to see that one twin girl #7 back, she's hitting well. And, more pleasant for me, that one player with the LeBron James attitude is not there.

    Agreed. Asian games are much more interesting for me because all the crazy digs. Plus, they seems to really enjoy the game and have better relationship on court with one another. Japan, Korea, and Thailand are so enjoyable to watch. I would love to love to see China play but their current middle blocker (the screaming banshee) takes away all the fun.


    I don't know why but it seems like Korea is playing much better without Kim imo. The sets distribution seems fair enough. And even though they were down straight sets, but there are moments when they put up a very good fight.


    And for Japan, I like that tall OH. And it is good to see Yuri Ishii back on court. Japan as for now has a very good bunch of OH - Koga, Ishii, the tall OH, Nabeya, and the short one.

    agreed. i am not saying that these new generation is a bad player, but compared to the likes of Mari, Sheila, and Paula -- they were never this green. they showed so much promise from the get go. that is why some of us are really concerned with Brazil's performance. however, the fact that they won two tournaments already shows that these new gen of players might pull a shocker.

    so according to the statistic, both bia and adenizia were in the top 3 of best blockers, and rasic was at 5. maybe rasic has higher kill precentage that ade which is why she was named best mb alongside bia.


    just watch the rematch of the final and i noticed one small detail. on the 1st set, when the point was 25-24, Roberta went to the left side of the court, leaving Natalia on the right side of the court -- similar to what Fenerbahce always do to keep Nootsara, the small blocker from going against a taller hitter. this time it was to avoid Roberta from going against Egonu who is hitting at position 4.

    argue all you want, but I agree when someone says Brazil is the best ALL AROUND team in this tournament. the kills distribution is almost fair, with Tandara, Natalia, Rosamaria contributing. then we have Ade and Bia who are both monsters at the net. And Roberta, who imo, is the best setter this final round has.


    volleyball is a team sport. when you have 7 players (plus libero) that know their roles and play their role accordingly, then you don't need one superplayer. I am not saying having a superplayer is a bad thing (it clearly works for Korea and Italy) but I prefer a more all around team. having more lethal attackers means the game will not be predictable. The middle blockers will be on his/her feet all the time trying to guess where the setter is going to set the ball. this is what happened back then when Brazil has Sheila/Mari/Paula trio. it is a huge advantage because the team will be able to do combination plays and what not.


    having a super player is also a huge advantage because when you have that one intimidating player, everyone will be on their feet watching for that player, and that is already a psychological advantage. however, the team needs to make sure this super player will not be exhausted/choke during the crucial moment -- like Egonu did. when your number one player is on the down low, who is going to pick up the pieces? yes, she is young and she still has a lot of volleyball years ahead of her, but we also have to take consideration of physiological response. having to swing around 70 to 100 balls per match, continuously will do harm to your body in the long run. it scares me to think if things going to be like this for years to come, Egonu will not last long. hopefully her conditioning sports coach understands her value and her talent and so developing her physical accordingly.


    this is my opinion only because i was obsessed with Brazil's best golden triangle era. that is why i always treasure OH that can defend and attack at high intensity like Tom Logan and Sokolova during their prime.

    I don't agree. She was for sure the most impressive player with some of her kills, but she still makes way too many mistakes. Her meltdowns in the decisive moments of the final are not worthy of an MVP award or best OPP award (yet).

    agreed. it feels like she made more error than points. boskovic is the best OPP even though she played like 4 games only. but i think Tandara deserves the MVP slot.


    imo, current Italy NT have even better defense skill than Japan NT....

    i think this is a reach. italy played good defense because they have tall blockers which makes it easier for the defense player to cover the court. japan has small blockers so the attacking zone is bigger and they did one hell of a job defending the areas.

    One thing you can say about these Brazilian players is that THEY KNOW HOW TO PUT ON A GOOD SHOW. The passion that they have as volleyball runs in their blood comes alive every time they are on court, especially when they are falling behind and trying to catch up. Both Ana Beatriz and Gabi the libero showed amazing sportsmanship during the final match. They kept the spirit and momentum high.


    Having been a fan of Brazil NT for the past 3 generations (Venturini - Fofao - Lins) I feel like this young team has the best connection to each other. I have never seen Brazil NT really being passionate towards each other like Rosamaria, Roberta, Ana, and Tandara. I'm not saying the previous generations are not passionate about their team mates, but they don't really show it like these girls do. I guess maybe because they are truly professional #1 world player that they know how to keep their fire focus on the match. And who can forget the legendary Brazilian ice queen - Marianne Steinbrecher?


    I am really excited to see how much this team will develop since this tournament has stapled them as one of the teams that will win tournaments in the coming years. Especially knowing more players will be added to the team like Juciely, Gabi, and my favorite Garay. Natalia will secure her spot as the starting OH, so the other spot will be opened to Garay, Gabi, Rosamaria, and Drussyla to grab. I just hope at one point I will get to see the amazing Natalia-Gabi duo on court once again. Gabi is one of the best receivers Brazil currently have and with her on court, Natalia can focus on being a beast at the net.

    Dani Lins will probably take the setter position when she is back even though Roberta played a great Grand Prix. Thaísa, Garay and Gabi will be good adds too.


    We need to find a reliable libero right away. I know Brazil just won a competition but it won't be enough for the World Championship next year.


    On the youngers, I agree they should have more playing time on Superliga before they make it to the National Team.

    Dani Lins' time has past imo. She is a good setter but her performance has decreased over the past 2 years. I think it is time to let Roberta play as much as possible considering the fact that she is the main contender for the spot and she has been doing a great job at it.


    Suelen is not enough for me. Gabi outplayed her on the final of WGP and tbh I would like to see Gabi become more regular. She brings fire to her team.