Jose Roberto Guimaraes (Ze Roberto) cited Thailand's improvement, which forced them to exert more effort to win their match in the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix
Bangkok, Thailand, July 6, 2016 – Brazil beat hosts Thailand 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-11) in the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Finals at Indoor Stadium Huamark on Wednesday.
Brazil coach Jose Roberto Lages Guimaraes: “Thailand have improved a lot. They are stronger as I have observed them during the Olympic qualification. We had to use more energy to play against them. They almost won the first set, so we have to put more effort in the succeeding sets. We were stronger in the second set because they blocked less, so it made it easier for us to win the match. I commend Thailand and the organisers for this very good match.”
Brazil captain Fabiana Claudino: “we had a good start. Thailand have very good technique and played with fewer mistakes at the beginning, but we are glad that we managed to end that set. They have great form and good preparation. They blocked and played well against us. They also have a good spirit.”
Thailand coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai: “Brazil played very well in this match and they are worthy of being two-time Olympic champions. They performed very well today. I would like to thank the fans for their support. Brazil were well-prepared for this match, their serves were efficient. We could not convert points with our attacks because we could not overcome their advantage over us even though we had speed and good combination plays. The Thai players should learn from the Brazilians’ good spirit. We nearly got the first set, as both sides played very well. However, in the next two sets, Brazil changed their tactics, which we were not able to cope up with. We will learn from our mistakes today and hope that we will win the match against Russian team on Friday. We will do our best and we will try to follow our plans in this tournament.”
Thailand captain Pleumjit Thinkaow: “We did a great job in the first set, as we were able to execute our attacks efficiently, but in the second and third sets we could not block them anymore. We have done our best and we will learn from today’s mistakes. We will try to do better in the upcoming match against Russia.”
Thailand player Wilavan Apinyapong: “We started the first set well. We nearly won the first set because of our great performance and our opponents’ mistakes. However, in the next two sets, they changed their tactics and they had better intensity, which made it hard for us to match. We had great attacks, but their defence got better. Brazil really put an effort against us. They never underestimated our team. We expect to play well against Russia, but we might struggle with the same problem, so we have to be ready for them.