Japan notched its first win in four meetings with Greece with a 3-2 victory in volleyball Men's World League preliminary Pool D at Azuma Gymnasium on Sunday.
The host nation bounced back from Saturday's 3-2 defeat with some solid serving and prevailed 26-28, 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13 to keep alive its hopes of advancing to the finals.
After dropping the first set, Japan found its rhythm and big-serving duo Akira Koshiya and Nobuhiro Ito pounded the Greeks to put the home side back in the driving seat.
Japan then surrendered the fourth but regrouped its attacking lead and in the closing stages of the final set, outside spiker Nobuyoshi Hosokawa took center stage to score valuable points to close the match 15-13.
Japan has two wins against four losses in Pool D while Greece has won four times and lost twice.