Volcanoes face Japan in rugby quarterfinals

Volcanoes’ Joe Matthews (left) stays strong in a tackle against a Samoan rival.

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Volcanoes go for broke in their first-ever World Cup stint as they face the Japanese in the quarterfinal round of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow Sunday.

The Volcanoes dropped their first three games but vowed to give it their best shot against the Japanese, who were held to a draw by the Russians while losing to the South Africans and the Scots in two other matches.

Hong Kong finished as the top-ranked Asian team in the bottom eight but will take on a highly touted Georgia side in one of the featured matches.

All teams were ranked on their first two-day results before the draw was done with the top-ranked team meeting No. 8, No. 2 versus No. 7 and so on.

So much is at stake for the top-placed Asian team with the International Rugby Board offering an invitation to play at next year’s Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

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