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2016 Review: Brazil celebrate eleventh World Grand Prix title
- Updated: December 15, 2016
Lausanne, Switzerland, December 15, 2016 – Brazil celebrated their eleventh FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix title in 2016 as the annual competition was held for the 24th time. The South Americans are the most titled team in the competition, but failed to repeat their World Grand Prix success at the Olympics later in the summer when they lost to eventual winners China in the quarterfinals.“Of course we were all dreaming of becoming Olympic champions. But the Grand Prix title still represents a great success for Brazilian volleyball this year,” said Brazil coach José Roberto Guimarães. And the trophy will serve as a reminder of that triumph.The Brazilians beat archrivals USA 3-2 (18-25, 25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 15-9) in the final in Bangkok to claim an eleventh title at the most prestigious annual showdown in women’s volleyball, after also winning in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, and 2014. In some ways, it has been a two-way battle in the World Grand Prix in recent years, as only Brazil and the United States have triumphed since 2008. At the Olympics, however, it was China defeating Serbia, who had missed out on the finals in Bangkok after only finishing sixth in the Preliminary Round. USA coach Karch Kiraly took the final defeat in style: “Congratulations to Brazil. We learned very valuable lessons from this match. We will go back home and train harder.” As always, the strengths of the Brazilian team included temperament and unpredictability. Five Brazilian players – Fabiana, Sheilla Castro, Fernanda Rodrigues, Thaisa Menezes and Natalia Pereira – ended the final with points tallies in double figures. Dani Lins acted as setter, Sheilla Castro was named Best Outside Spiker, while Natalia Pereira won the MVP …
