Tokyo, Japan, June 8, 2008 -- Athens 2004 Olympic silver medalists Italy triumphed over Argentina 3-2 on Sunday to earn their ninth straight Olympic berth at the FIVB Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tokyo. The Italians battled hard to overcome the brave South Americans in a marathon five-setter and ended this tournament as unbeaten leaders after seven tough matches.

The “Azzurri” will head to Beijing along with Japan, who returns to the Olympic Games after 16 years of absence by claiming the ticket as the best Asian team. The Japanese team closed the event with a victory over Algeria in straight sets at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym.

Japan earned their eighth Olympic ticket on Saturday by finishing as the best Asian team, after a dramatic victory over Argentina 3-2.

The 12 Men’s teams who booked their Olympic berths either through the 2007 World Cup, the Continental Qualification Tournaments or the World Olympic Qualification Tournaments are Brazil (first place World Cup), Russia (second place World Cup), Bulgaria (third place World Cup), Egypt (Africa), Japan (Asia), Serbia (Europe), USA (NORCECA), Venezuela (South America), Germany (WOQT Dusseldorf), Poland (WOQT Espinho), Italy (WOQT Tokyo) and China (host country). They are going to compete from August 9 to 24, 2008, in Beijing for the Olympic Games medals and the glory.

Italy completed the Men's World Olympic Qualification Tournament with a 3-2 victory over Argentina to take top spot and a ticket for Beijing. In an exciting contest, Italy won 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 15-5 to finish with a perfect 7-0 win-loss record. The Argentinians put up a great fight during the entire event but ended at 4-3. Even though Argentina's hopes of qualifying for Beijing had ended, they have nothing to lose and gave Italy a hard match. What started as an Italian cruise in the first two sets, in the third and fourth became a battle as the courageous South Americans tied the actions 2-2, forcing the Europeans to lift their level in the tie-break.

“This tournament was very well organized, fantastic!” said Italian player Alessandro Fei to the press after the qualification victory. “Today's match, in the first and second sets we could play well, but after that we were too relaxed and lost the third and fourth sets. In the tiebreak we regained our strong mentality and could win this important match. The Olympics is a very important tournament so we have to strengthen our team so that we can compete against teams such as Brazil”.

“First of all I want to congratulate Italy”, stated the Argentinian Head Coach Jon Uriarte. “It was an important game for us. We came here to get a ticket for the Olympics, but we found there is no possibility for us to be qualified. The players are young, and sometimes we were faced with problems. In this game we could get together and use the chances. Italy was a strong rival for us. Of course we have the future so all we can say now is we can continue our play”.

Japan, meanwhile, completed a memorable week by sweeping Algeria 3-0. A day after booking their ticket to Beijing, the hosts celebrated in a party atmosphere with a 25-20, 25-13, 25-18 victory over the African outsiders. Japan, ranked 12th in the world, had too much speed and experience for the 60th-ranked Algeria, and ended the week with a proud 6-1 win-loss record. Algeria dropped to 2-5 but left a good impression with their sparkling attacks and expertise in the centre. Best scorer of the match was Algerian Mohamed Chikhi.

In the first match of the day, Korea ended the Men's World Olympic Qualification Tournament on a high note with a fourth straight win beating Thailand 3-1. The 16th-ranked Koreans held off the 28th-ranked Thais 25-18, 20-25, 25-18, 25-21 to finish with a 4-3 win-loss record. Thailand dropped to 0-7, but had the satisfaction of winning their second set of the tournament.

Later Iran swept Asian champions Australia 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-23) to end the event with a 2-5 win-loss record. Australia, ranked 11th in the world compared to Iran's 26th, finished a disappointing campaign at 3-4.

Iranian Head Coach Zoran Gajic said during the press conference: “I felt the players could play better with each day and each match. They developed their skills. I also felt the players' lack of experience, for example against world-level teams such as Italy. We learned many things in this tournament. The OQT has been a precious experience for us. I think Italy and Japan will get the tickets for Beijing, and they are good representatives from this tournament”.

Seventh Day Results:

Korea - Thailand 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-18, 25-21)

Iran - Australia 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-23)

Italy - Argentina 3-2 (25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 15-5)

Japan - Algeria 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-18)

Final standings: (two points for victory, one for loss)

1. Italy 14 points, 2. Japan 13 points, 3. Korea 11 points, 4. Argentina 11 points, 5. Australia 10 points, 6. Iran 9 points, 7. Algeria 9 points, 8. Thailand 7 points.