Poland defeated host Japan to enter the second stage of the 2006 men's volleyball World Championship with all-win record while Bulgaria and Serbia and Montenegro also moved past their rivals in the group competitions on Wednesday.

Poland, who remained a perfect record during the tournament, didn't give any chance to Japan and took the victory with 25-18, 25-21, 25-23.

With the win, Poland ranked top in the Group A and advanced into the top 16 while Japan, who also booked a berth in next stage, ranked second.

Poland committed 18 errors against Japan but their advantage over the net helped them beat the Asians with straight sets.

Poland had eight blocks and four aces while Japan had three and one respectively.

"Poland is a very strong team, with a tough and aggressive mentality. I could not feel the energy from my players, maybe we knew we would advance despite the loss. We have to change the strategy in the next round. We need to work on our block and I want the young players to gain experience which will lead to the increased confidence of the team as a whole." said Tatsuya Ueta, head coach of Japan.

Early on Thursday, China was defeated by Puerto Rico 17-25, 13-25, 25-21, 24-26 and eliminated from the top 16.

The last match of the group were easy for Bulgaria and Serbia and Montenegro as Bulgaria defeated Czech Republic with 20-25, 25-22, 25-20 and 25-21 in Group C, while Serbia and Montenegro, world No.4, took the victory easily with 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) over Canada in the Group D matches.

Also on Thursday, defending champion Brazil beat Germany 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-22) to top the Group B while world championship runner-up Russia downed South Korea 25-13, 25-21 and 25-13.

Top four teams of each group will advance into the next stage which are scheduled to be held from November 25-29 in two cities of Japan, Sendai and Hiroshima.

Source: Xinhua