Netherlands recovered from an opening set loss to turn back Germany, 22-25, 31-29, 25-23, 25-16, Friday in Week 2 of the Volleyball Nations League Men’s Leg at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Skipper Nimir Abdel-Aziz erupted for 31 points built on 25 kills, three blocks and three aces to power the Dutch crew, which hiked its win-loss tally to 4-3 for 12 points.
The win cemented their place in the standings at sixth.
Nimir, a member of the national team, stepped up when needed most particularly in the critical moments of the second set where he walloped back-to-back aces for the set victory.
He also fired two straight down-the-line spikes to untangle Netherlands from a 23-all deadlock and sealed the match with a back row attack.
Gijs Jorna also led the Dutch team with 11 points off 10 kills, while Bennie Tuinstra Junior chipped in 10 points.
The Germans started hot at the attack line by firing 18 kills in the opening set but failed to sustain this as Netherlands provided solid net defense in the next three frames.
Back-to-back attacks from Linus Weber actually gave Germany the set point advantage in the second frame, but a middle spike from the Netherlands and Nimir’s back-to-back aces killed their momentum.
Even the third set was the same story as Weber's off-the-block spike tied the match at 23-all, but Nimir was too hot to handle.
It was a different atmosphere in the fourth as the Dutch dictated the pace, leading by as many as 11-6 for good.
The Germans have yet to win a match for this week after absorbing their fourth loss in seven games including Thursday’s match against China, which they forfeited after refusing to play the Chinese.
Tobias Krick and Lukas Maase also scored 12 and 10 points in a failed attempt for Germany.