Host nation Japan did it again as it shut out Belgium en route to a finals showdown for the Gold against defending champion Brazil at the FIVB World Grand Prix in Tokyo on Saturday.

It's a historical day at the Ariake Coliseum as Japan ensures itself their first Silver medal in the history of the tournament as they defeated Belgium 26-24, 25-16, 25-15.

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The Japanese nationals had a bit of a hard time in the first set as Belgium's Lise Van Hecke led her team with furious over the net attacks that kept them within striking distance but Japan found its rhythm once setter Haruka Miyashita was replaced by Hitomi Nakamichi and Yukiko Ebata came in.

Ebata top scored for Japan with 11 points followed by team captain Saori Kimura and Risa Shinnabe with 10 points. Van Hecke was top scorer for Belgium with 15 points.

Brazil had a relatively easy time with their matchup against Russia, defeating them also in straight sets 25-12, 25-21, 25-20.

Team captain Fabiana Claudino led the defending champions with 17 points, 14 points coming from attacks and three points from blocks.

Meantime, China had a difficult time with their match against Turkey as they were stretched to the limit but eventually coming out on top 25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 25-23, 21-19 which lasted two hours and 23 minutes.

Japan leads the overall standings with 12 points while Brazil comes in second with 10 points. Russia and China are tied in third place with five points.

Sunday will be the last day of the finals with Japan battling it out with Brazil for the Gold medal while China goes up against Russia for the Bronze.

Japan coach Masayoshi Manabe said that Brazil serves quite well and that the key is if they can receive the ball around 70 to 80 percent. "If we can't do that, the game might be difficult," said Manabe.

TagsHaruka Miyashita, Hitomi Nakamichi, Yukiko Ebata, Saori Kimura, Risa Shinnabe, Fabiana Claudino, Masayoshi Manabe