Osaka, Japan, November 18, 2009 –- Favourites Brazil was joined by two surprise Asian teams Iran and Japan in securing victories on the opening day of the FIVB Men's World Grand Champions Cup on Wednesday in the Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium.

All the three matches were decided in five-set hard fought thriller. Iran pulled off a superb come-from-behind victory over Egypt 3-2 (21-25, 25-20 25-21, 17-25, 15-10), Brazil outlasted Cuba 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 23-25, 15-10) while Japan pulled off a fantastic 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-21, 15-10) victory over Poland.

The men's edition of the Grand Champions Cup opened with three incredible five set matches which had the audience on their feet in applause. A great opening contest between two exciting teams - Iran and Egypt - kick started proceedings before Cuba and Brazil continued the spectacle with a 130 minute marathon. Japan's win over Poland put the icing on the cake and completed a sensational start to the competition, which concludes in Nagoya on Monday.

Iran beat Egypt 3-2 (21-25, 25-20 25-21, 17-25, 15-10)

Iran, runners-up to Japan in the Asian Championship, stunned African champions Egypt in the first match of the tournament. Ranked 24th in the world, Iran beat their near neighbours who are ranked six places higher in a superb display of determination and superb team spirit.

"It was a very difficult match for us because two months ago we lost two matches in Egypt 3-0," coach Hossein Madani said. "Mentally we had a big problem because the players were thinking of revenge, so I tried to make them just focus on their performance."

Brazil beat Cuba 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 23-25, 15-10)

Brazil began their defence of the FIVB Men's World Grand Champions Cup with a hard-fought victory over Cuba. The South American champions beat the NORCECA champions in five riveting sets, full of fire and powerful spikes.

"We played a good first match today," setter Bruno said. "We have played with one of the best teams in the world. They have a lot of young players and they are good players and it is very difficult to play against Cuba. We know that in the Grand Champions Cup every game is a final, so we have to enter very focused and very concentrated to play."

Japan beat Poland 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-21, 15-10)

In the last match of the day, Japan showed great character to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to beat the European champions. The Asian champions won a gripping encounter and owed a lot to an inspired passage of play from southpaw Kunihiro Shimizu in the fourth set where he scored eight points including three aces in a row, which changed the complexion of the match.

"At the start of the game we were a little bit nervous and not so good, but in the fourth and fifth sets we finally relaxed and played to our full potential," Shimizu said. "When I practice my serves and if I make a mistake it is all about the accuracy of the toss, so today I really concentrated on the toss and could make a stable service."