Japan came back from two sets down to edge Portugal on Saturday for its first victory in the men's volleyball World League this year while stopping its 22-game losing streak dating back to last year.
Masaji Ogino and Yu Koshikawa matched a game high with 17 points as the struggling Japanese side, already denied a place in the next stage, scored an 18-25, 20-25, 27-25, 26-24, 16-14 win in a preliminary round Group A match at Yoyogi national gymnasium.
The result gave Japan its first win in 11 matches in the preliminary group phase.
Portugal dropped to 6-5.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.