Novi Sad, Serbia, June 2, 2017 - Effective play on the net by John Gordon Perrin allowed Canada to secure tie-breaker victory over Belgium 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-13).
John Gordon Perrin was the best scorer of his team with 21 points, but title of best scorer in the match goes to Bram Van Den Dries who recorded 26 points for the Red Dragons.
Canada led in blocks, scoring 13 points as a team in this element, while Belgium recorded only 5 kill blocks throughout five sets. Best blockers were Canadian Jansen Vandoorn and Graham Vigrass with three points each in this element. Belgium recorded slightly better performance on the service line, with 7 aces - two each by Bram Van Den Dries and Simon Van De Voorde.
Almost three hours long match was the first World League action for coaches Stephane Antiga and Vital Heynen with their new teams. Antiga emphasised that his team is yet to gain confidence, as the tournament is only beginning.