Melbourne, Australia, June 24, 2018 - Bruno Lima produced one of his finest performances in the men's FIVB Volleyball Nations League to steer Argentina to a stunning 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21) victory over Olympic champions Brazil on Sunday.
Despite being out of contention for a place in next month's VNL finals in France, Argentina saved their best for last, delivering a breathtaking performance to beat their great South American rivals.
Lima was brilliant throughout, leading his team with 10 points, including nine spikes from 18 attempts and a critical stuffed block.
Wing spiker Tomas Lopez was also in great form, contributing seven points to lay the foundations for his team's upset win before being replaced after the second set, while Lisandro Zanottin finished with six points after coming off the bench.
Cristian Poglajen, Argentina's top pointscorer in the tournament, added four more to his impressive season tally while Agustin Loser won the last three points of the match to seal the victory at the Hisense Arena in Melbourne.
Evandro Guerra led the way for Brazil, who had already qualified for the finals after beating Poland on Saturday night.
Guerra finished with a game-high 11 points, all winning spikes from his 25 swings, while Isac Santos (9) and Eder Carbonera (8) also made valuable contributions.
Brazil looked to be in cruise control after opening up a 20-15 lead in the first set when Argentina suddenly sprung into life, winning seven points in a row then sealing the first set with a kill from the athletic Lopez.
Argentina's defense was the key to winning the second and third sets with the clinching points both coming off stuffed blocks as they finished the round-robin stage with a record of 4-11 after also defeating the Pool 17 hosts Australia on Saturday. Brazil ended 10-5.
"It's the best ending for the competition we could have had," Poglajen said. "We had nothing to lose so we just played freely."