Serbia earned a spot in the Round of 16 of the FIVB Men’s World Championship after beating Brazil, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22, on Thursday, September 18 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Opposite Dražen Luburić scored 19 points on 17 attacks and two aces, while outside hitter Pavle Perić chipped in 15 points off 13 attacks, one block and one ace as the Serbians rolled to their second straight win to earn six points in Pool H.

“Brazil is an amazing team and it has been a little while since we last beat them. Maybe today, they didn’t play their best, and we had an amazing game. We were able to show a lot of emotions and great volleyball, and I’m very happy and proud of the team. We want to continue playing this way,” setter Nikola Jovovic said.

Brazil, sporting a 2-1 card, hopes that Czechia (1-1) loses to China (0-2) in their match later in the day to secure a place in the next round.

Opposite Alan de Souza paced Brazil with 10 points on nine attacks and one block, followed by middle blocker Judson Nunes, who had seven attacks and two blocks.

“We had the same energy as last match, but Serbia played a great match today. They were doing a great job of getting out of tough situations, and we kept trying, but that got us frustrated. I think we played a good match, but everything we did, they did better. Luburić and Perić both had great performances today, and we just couldn’t stop them. We’re sad because we wanted to win again and to play well, but now all we can do is wait for the result of the other match,” outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli said.

Over at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Luka Martilla scored 25 points in leading Finland to a 25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21 victory over South Korea in Pool C.

Finland (2-1) hopes that Argentina (2-0) prevails over France (1-1) in the other match to reach the next round. (PNA)